I  III  !■  Ill       I ~~m~. 

mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmamKtmmgmmi'.- 

ii  mi n»gmiiinn  ii»n»»i»nii»»i»nmnni»»4«««»^«»»- 


EDUCATION  LIBR. 


THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 

OF  CALIFORNIA 

Education 


GIFT  OF 


Louise  Farrow  Barr 


J  a  n  b  b 

COUSIN   LUCY 


AMONG 


THE  MOUNTAINS 


BY  THE  AUTHOR  OF  THE  ROLLO  BOOKS. 


-o-otQpS>o 


THE   LUCY   SERIES 

IS    COMPOSED    OF    SIX    VOLUMES,    VIZ.  : 


Lucy  Among  the  Mountains. 
Lucy's  Conversations. 
Lucy  on  the  Sea-Shore. 


Lucy  at  Study. 

Lucy  at  Play. 

Stories  told  to  Cousin  Lucy. 


A    NEW    EDITION,    REVISED    BY    THE   AUTHOR. 


NEW    YORK: 

THOMAS    Y.   CROWELL    &    CO. 

No.  13  Astok  Place. 


Education 

SIFT 


'3  2. 

c  ry^ 


PKEFACE. 


t 

Li 


This  volume,  with  its  companion, 
Cousin  Lucy  upon  the  Sea-Shore, 
is  intended  as  a  continuation  of  Lucy's 
history,  four  volumes  of  which  have 
heen  already  published.  They  pre- 
sent to  the  juvenile  reader  an  account 
of  the  gradual  progress  made  by  our 
little  heroine  in  the  acquisition  of 
knowledge,  and  in  the  formation  of 
character,  though  in  very  different 
scenes  from  those  in  which  the  inci- 
dents of  the  preceding  volumes  have 
been  laid. 


278 


CONTENTS. 


i'age. 
CHAPTER   1. 

Fording 0 


CHAPTER  II. 
Tije  General's 25 

CHAPTER  in. 
The  Inspection .    35 

CHAPTER  IV. 
A  Walk 51 

CHAPTER  V. 
Robert's  Clearing G4 

CHAPTER  VI. 
Philosophy 82 

CHAPTER  VII. 
The  Slab 5)0 


8  CONTENTS. 

Page, 
CHAPTER  VIII. 

Shopping 109 

CHAPTER  IX. 
An  Escape 122 

CHAPTER  X. 
Effect 133 

CHAPTER  XI. 
Tue  Gap  among  the  Mountains 146 

CHAPTER  XII. 
Pump-ALakino 15B 

CHAPTER  XIII. 
The  Retukn ,     167 


LUCY  AMONG  THE  MOUNTAINS. 


CHAPTER   1. 

FORDING. 


One  summer  afternoon,  in  the  fall  of  the  year, 
just  after  sunset,  there  was  a  chaise  coming  down 
a  iong  hill  in  the  woods.  The  hiii  was  steep,  and 
there  was  a  rocky  precipice  on  one  side  of  the 
road.     There  were  loftv  mountains  all  around. 

In  the  chaise  there  were  three  persons  —  a  gen- 
tleman, a  lad}',  and  a  little  girl.  The  girl  was 
Rollo's  cousin  Lucy.  The  gentleman  and  lady 
were  her  father  and  mother.  They  were  taking 
a  journej'. 

The  country  was  very  wild  and  mountainous, 
and  the  road  desolate  and  solitary.  If  it  had  been 
morning,  Luc}r  would  have  been  pleased  with  the 
cliffs  and  precipices,  and  the  towering  summits  of 
the  mountains.     But  now,  as  the  sun  had  gone 


10      LUCY  AMONG  THE  MOUNTAINS. 

down,  it  seemed  lonely.  In  fact,  Lucy  was  a 
little  afraid. 

"  How  much  farther  have  we  got  to  go  ?  n  she 
asked. 

"  I  don't  know,"  said  her  father ;  "  it  must  be 
several  miles." 

"  Hark  !  father,"  said  Lucy,  again  ;  "  I  hear  a 
roaring." 

"  Yes,"  said  her  father ;  "  it  is  down  in  the 
valley  below  us." 

Lucy  said  nothing  in  reply  to  this ;  but,  if  her 
father  could  have  seen  her  face,  he  would  have 
perceived  that  she  looked  anxious  and  pale.  She 
aid  not  know  what  that  roaring  could  be. 

"  I  presume  there  is  a  stream  there,"  said  her 
father,  —  "  perhaps  a  small  river." 

"  O,"  said  Lucy,  "  a  river  roaring.  I  didn't 
know  but  that  it  might  be  —  some  —  some  wild 
beasts." 

Lucy  was  a  little  ashamed  of  her  fears,  and  sc 
she  spoke  hesitatingly. 

Her  mother  smiled  faintly,  and  then  immedi- 
ately looked  serious  again.  In  fact,  her  mother 
was  a  little  afraid  herself.  She  did  not  like  cross- 
ing rivers  so  late,  in  strange  and  wild  places. 
She  was  afraid  that  the  bridge  might  break  down. 

Lucy's  father,  however,  said  that  he  presumed 


FORDING.  il 

that  the  bridge  was  perfectly  safe,  for  he  thought 
they  would  have  a  good  bridge  on  a  road  so  much 
travelled  as  that  appeared  to  be. 

He  was,  however,  in  error  in  all  his  calculations 
on  the  subject ;  for,  as  it  happened,  there  was  no 
bridge  at  all.  He  learned  this  before  he  came  to 
the  river ;  for,  when  they  had  reached  the  bottom 
of  the  hill,  they  met  a  man  on  horseback,  and  so 
they  stopped  to  inquire  of  him  about  their  road. 
They  asked  him  if  there  was  a  good  bridge  over 
that  stream  ;  and  he  said  that  there  was  no  bridge 
at  all,  but  that  there  was  a  very  good  place  to 
ford. 

"  O,  I  am  afraid  to  ford,"  said  Lucy's  mother. 

"  So  am  I,"  said  Lucy. 

"  Is  the  water  deep  ? "  said  her  father  to  the 
man. 

"  No,  sir,"  replied  the  man,  "  not  if  you  keep  in 
the  right  place, — just  in  the  edge  of  the  rips." 
So  saying,  the  man  rode  on. 

Lucy's  father  then  moved  his  horse  slowly  on 
down  the  road,  which  gradually  descended  into  a 
ravine,  where  Lucy  could  hear  the  water  roaring. 
Lucy  said  that  she  was  afraid  to  have  the  horse 
wade  through  the  river. 

"  So  am  I, '  said  her  mother 


12  LUCY    AMONG    THE    MOUNTAINS. 

"  I  aon't  quite  like  the  adventure  myself,"  said 
her  father,  "  but  there  is  no  other  alternative." 

"  Can't  we  go  back  ? "  said  her  mother. 

"  Not  very  well.  It  is  several  miles  back  to 
any  place  where  we  could  spend  the  night,  and 
then  we  should  have  to  come  and  ford  this  stream 
to-morrow  morning ;  so  that  we  shouldn't  gain 
much." 

"  Only  it  would  be  light,"  said  Lucy. 

"  And  perhaps  we  might  find  some  other  way,,J 
said  her  mother. 

"  We'll  go  down  to  the  bank  of  the  stream,  and 
see,  at  any  rate,"  said  her  father.  And  he  ac- 
cordingly rode  on.  The  rocks  and  precipices 
were  so  high  on  each  side  of  the  road,  and  the 
river  itself  so  crooked,  winding  around  among 
them,  that  they  could  not  see  far  before  them. 
At  length,  however,  they  came  in  sight  of  the 
surface  of  the  water,  gleaming  through  the  trees 
before  them ;  and  in  a  few  minutes  more,  they 
came  down  to  the  bank  of  a  very  broad  stream. 

"  O  dear  me ! "  said  Lucy  ;  "lam  sure  I  am 
afraid  to  wade  across  such  a  big  river  as  this." 

Her  father  said  nothing,  but  he  stopped  the 
horse  upon  the  sand  of  the  shore,  and  began  to 
took  up  and  down  over  the  water. 


FORDING. 


13 


"  It  looks  very  shallow,"  said  he. 

"  What  is  shallow,  sir  ? "  said  Lucy. 

M  Why,  not  deep,"  replied  her  father. 

"  What  did  the  man  mean  by  the  rips  ?  "  asked 
Ijucy's  mother 

"  He  meant  the  ripples  in  the  water  there,  all 
across  the  stream,  just  below  us."  So  saying, 
Lucy's  father  pointed,  and  showed  Lucy  and  her 
mother  where  the  water  was  rough,  being  full  of 
little  waves,  which  tumbled  along,  making  a  sort 
of  rippling  noise.  These  ripples  extended  quite 
across  the  stream  just  below  where  they  were. 
But  above  them,  the  surface  of  the  water  was 
calm  and  smooth,  like  glass.  This  calm  surface 
also,  like  the  ripples  below,  extended  across  from 
shore  to  shore. 

The  sun  had  been  set  for  some  time,  but  still 
there  was  a  great  deal  of  light  in  the  western  part 
of  the  sky.  This  light  shone  upon  the  water,  and 
enabled  them  to  see,  pretty  distinctly,  the  line 
of  the  rips,  where  the  man  had  said  that  they 
must  go. 

"  I  wouldn't  go  through  the  waves,  father,"  said 
Lucy ;  "  I  would  go  where  the  water  is  smooth." 

"  No,"  said  her  father ;  "  we'll  follow  the  direc- 


tions." 


As  he  said  this,  he  began  to  drive  the  horse  into 


1 4  LUCY    AMONG    1HE    MOUNTAINS. 

the  water.  The  bottom  was  covered  with  fine 
pebble-atones,  so  that  it  was  by  no  means  as 
smooth  as  the  road  which  they  had  been  travelling 
in :  still  they  got  along  very  well.  The  water 
gradually  grew  deeper  and  deeper,  until  it  came 
up  to  the  step  of  the  chaise.  They  were  then 
in  about  the  middle  of  the  river. 

"  O  father,"  said  Lucy,  "  what  a  wide  river !  " 

"  Yes,"  said  her  father,  "  it  is  pretty  wide,  and 
I  believe  I'll  stop  the  horse  a  minute  or  two,  and 
let  you  look  about." 

So  he  pulled  the  reins  a  little,  and  said,  whoa, 
and  the  horse  stopped ;  while  Lucy  and  her 
mother  looked  up  and  down  the  river.  Lucy 
could  soe  better  than  her  mother,  for  she  was 
seated  in  the  middle  of  the  chaise,  upon  a  low 
seat.  It  was  a  little  farther  forward  than  the  seat 
which  her  parents  were  sitting  upon,  so  that  she 
could  see  up  and  down  the  river  very  well.  The 
reflection  of  the  clouds  in  the  water  was  very 
Deautifiil,  and  there  were  trees  upon  the  banks, 
hanging  over  into  the  stream.  The  river  came 
round  between  two  high  hills,  a  short  distance 
above  where  they  were,  and  there  were  crags, 
and  precipices,  and  high  mountains,  all  around. 

"  1  see  one  house,"  said  Lucy's  mother. 
Where  is  it,  mother?"  said  Lucv 


FORDING.  17 

Her  mother  pointed  towards  the  house.  It 
seemed  to  be  pretty  far  off  on  one  side  of  the 
valley,  far  above  where  they  were.  They  could 
not  see  its  situation  very  distinctly,  because  it  was 
so  nearly  dark ;  but  it  appeared  to  be  on  an 
elevated  table  of  land,  with  high  mountains  be- 
yond it. 

"  There   are  three  houses  there,"  said  Lucy 
*  I  can  see  three." 

"  No,"  replied  her  father;  "  those  are  the  barns, 
I  presume ;  however,  we  must  drive  on." 

He  accordingly  drove  on.  Lucy  watched  the 
house  as  long  as  she  could.  It  was  not  very  large, 
and  was  painted  white,  and  there  was  an  enormous 
elm  hanging  over  it,  like  an  umbrella.  The  barns, 
which  Lucy  thought,  at  first,  were  other  houses, 
were  very  large ;  but  they  were  partly  hidden  by 
trees,  so  that  she  could  not  see  them  very  distinctly. 
And  presently,  when  the  horse  drew  near  the 
shore,  the  tops  of  some  large  pine-trees,  which 
grew  upon  the  bank,  came  in  the  way,  and  they 
lost  sight  of  the  house  altogether.  When  the 
horse  reached  the  opposite  bank  of  the  river,  he 
walked  up  the  ascent,  and  then  came  to  a  smooth 
and  pleasant  road,  through  a  level  mowing  field, 
with  groves  of  trees  upon  one  side  along  the  bank 
of  the  river.     The  level  field  did  not  extend  verv 


IS  LUCY    AMONG    THE    MOUNTAINS. 

far ;  and  when  they  came  to  the  end  of  it,  they 
began  to  ascend  a  hill.  A  short  distance  before 
them,  they  saw  a  man  coming  with  a  cart  and 
oxen. 

"  I  believe  I'll  stop,"  said  Lucy's  father,  "  and 
ask  him  how  far  it  is  to  the  next  tavern." 

"  Yes,"  said  Lucy  ;  "  I  would." 

And  just  before  they  met  the  man,  her  mother 
said,  in  a  lower  tone,  "  Ask  him,  too,  whether 
we  shall  have  to  ford  another  stream." 

Just  at  that  minute,  they  saw  that  the  man  was 
driving  his  team  out  of  the  road,  in  order  to  make 
room  for  them  to  pass;  for  the  road  here  was 
quite  narrow.  When  they  got  opposite  to  him, 
ne  stood  among  the  bushes,  with  one  arm  resting 
upon  the  yoke  of  his  oxen,  waiting  for  them  to 
pass.  He  nodded  to  them,  with  a  frank  and  pleas- 
ant expression  of  countenance. 

"Will  you  tell  me,  sir,"  said  Lucy's  father. 
"  how  far  it  is  to  the  next  tavern  ? " 

"  Why,  it's  —  not  far  from  five  miles  —  equal 
to  ten." 

"How  so?" 

"  O,  it's  right  up  and  down  hill  all  the  way." 

"  It  will  take  us  two  or  three  hours  to  get  there, 
then,"  said  Lucy's  father  to  her  mother.  Then 
ne  turned  to  the  man  again,  and  said  — 


FORDING.  19 

"Shall  we  have  any  other  stream  to  fold  be- 
fore we  get  there  ? " 

"  No,"  said  the  man,  "  no  other  stream ;  but 
you'll  have  to  cross  this  same  one  again  about  four 
miles  from  here." 

"  Ah  !  "  said  her  father.  —  "  Is  it  a  pretty  gooa 
place  to  cross  ? " 

"  Yes,  very  good,"  said  the  teamster. 

"  Better  than  it  is  down  here,  where  we  just 
came  across?"  said  Lucy's  mother. 

"  No,"  said  the  man,  "  not  better  than  that ; 
we  don't  call  it  any  thing  crossing  there,  when  the 
water  is  as  low  as  it  is  now." 

Lucy's  mother  said  no  more,  and  her  father 
was  just  about  driving  on,  when  he  reined  up 
his  horse  again  a  moment  to  say,  — 

"  Then  there's  no  place  nearer  than  five  miles, 
where  we  can  put  up  to-night." 

"  Why,  yes,"  replied  the  man,  "  there's  the 
General's.  I  presume  you  could  get  accommo- 
dated up  here  at  the  General's." 

"  How  far  is  it  to  the  General's  ? " 

"  O,  about  a  mile  and  a  half,"  replied  the 
man. 

"  Does  he  make  a  practice  of  entertaining 
travellers  ?  "  said  Lucy's  father. 

"  Why,  no,"  replied  the  man,  "  he  does  no* 


20  LUCY    AMONG    THE    MOUNTAINS. 

exactly  make  a  practice  of  it ;  but,  then,  he's  very 
glad  to  see  them  when  the}*  come." 

"  And  he  makes  a  regular  charge  for  it,  does 
he?" 

"  O  yes,"  said  the  man  ;  "  3tou  needn't  be  con- 
cerned about  that ;  he's  very  reasonable  in  his 
charges." 

"  Well,  sir,  I'm  very  much  obliged  to  3Tou," 
said  Lucy's  father  ;  and  he  immediately  began  to 
whip  up  his  horse,  as  if  he  was  in  a  hurry  to  go 
along.  At  the  same  time,  he  turned  his  face 
away  from  the  man  towards  Lucy,  and  seemed  to 
be  trying  to  keep  from  laughing.  Something  ap- 
peared to  amuse  him  very  much  ;  so  much,  in  fact, 
that  it  seemed  to  be  quite  difficult  for  him  to  keep 
sober  until  he  got  by  the  man. 

"What  are  you  laughing  at,  father?"  said 
Lucy. 

Her  father  did  not  answer,  but  only  laughed 
the  more. 

"  Father,"  repeated  Luc}r,  earnestly,  "  what 
are  }rou  laughing  at  ?  I  am  sure  I  don't  think  we 
ought  to  laugh  at  that  man  for  telling  us  about 
our  wa}\" 

"No,"  replied  her  father  ;  "  I  was  not  laughing 
at  the  man,  but  only  at  the  queer  mistake  he 
made." 


FORDING.  21 

"  What  mistake  ? "  said  Lucy. 
Why,    he    thought    I    was    afraid    that    the 
General  would  charge  too  much  for  entertaining 
us ;  whereas  all  that  I  was  afraid  of  was,  that  he 
would  not  charge  any  thing  at  all." 

"  What  do  you  mean  by  charge,  father  ? "  said 
Lucy. 

"  Making  us  pay,"  replied  her  father. 

"  Well,  what  do  you  want  him  to  make  us  pay 
for  ?  "  asked  Lucy. 

"  O,  we  shall  all  feel  a  great  deal  more  at 
home  at  his  house,  if  he  is  going  to  receive  pay 
for  entertaining  us.  I  shouldn't  like  to  £0  into  a 
farmer's  house,  and  have  him  get  us  some  supper, 
and  give  us  beds  to  sleep  in,  and  then  get  us 
some  breakfast  in  the  morning,  and  then  not  pay 
him  any  thing  for  all  that  trouble.  But  the  man 
thought  that  I  was  afraid  we  should  have  to  pay 
him  too  much." 

Lucy  did  not  understand  exactly  what  her  fa- 
ther meant  by  speaking  of  a  farmer's  house ;  for 
the  house  where  they  were  going  was  a  general's 
house,  she  thought,  and  not  a  farmer's.  However, 
she  said  no  more  about  it.  Her  father  said  that 
he  had  forgotten  to  ask  what  the  General's  name 
was,  and  her  mother  said  that  she  thought  the 
General's  house  must  be  the  one  ihev    saw  up 


22      LUCY  AMONG  THE  MOUNTAINS. 

among  the  hills,  when  they  were  coming  across 
the  stream. 

"  Very  likely,"  said  her  father,  in  reply ;  and 
there  the  conversation  ceased.  They  were  all 
tired,  and  so  they  rode  on  for  nearly  half  an  hour 
in  silence. 

The  road  was  generally  up  hill,  though  it  was 
level  sometimes  for  a  short  distance ;  and  some- 
times it  even  went  down  a  little  way,  and  then 
up  again.  It  curved  about  also,  winding  along 
around  rocks  and  precipices,  and  sometimes  up 
narrow  ravines.  At  one  place  there  was  a  great 
tree  growing  out  from  the  brink  of  a  precipice  by 
the  side  of  the  road,  far  above  them  ;  and  the 
tree  hung  over  so  far,  that  Lucy  was  afraid  that 
it  would  fall  down  upon  their  heads.  But  her 
father  said  that  he  thought  there  was  no  danger. 
They  could  hear  the  river  roaring  through  the 
valley  far  below  them  on  one  side  of  the  road, 
and  now  and  then  they  got  a  glimpse  of  the  wa- 
ter, which  was  bright  by  the  reflection  of  the  sky. 

At  length  they  came  to  ground  which  seemed 
to  be  more  smooth.  There  began  to  be  a  fence 
of  rails  on  one  side  of  the  road.  Presently  the 
fence  stopped,  and  a  wall  began.  The  wall  was 
made  of  rough  stones  piled  up  in  a  row.  Prettv 
soon  there  was  a  wall  on  the  other  sid   of  the  roaa 


FORDING.  23 

too ;  and  beyond  the  wall  on  one  side  was  an 
orchard,  the  trees  growing  among  large  rocks, 
which  were  scauered  about  the  ground.  On  the 
other  side  were  broad,  level  fields,  which  looked 
pretty  smooth,  though  Lucy  could  not  see  them 
very  well.  Her  father  said  that  he  thought  that 
must  be  the  General's  mowing. 

As  they  drove  along,  they  could  see  that  they 
were  passing  different  fields,  having  corn  and 
grain  growing  in  them.  These  fields  appeared  to 
be  quite  large,  and  the  walls  seemed  to  grow  bet- 
ter and  more  substantial  the  farther  they  ad- 
vanced. Lucy's  father  said  he  had  no  idea  that 
there  could  have  been  such  a  place  for  a  farm 
among  those  mountains.  Lucy,  however,  said 
that  she  did  not  see  any  farm,  nothing  but  some 
fields. 

They  soon  began  to  draw  near  the  house. 
They  did  not  see  the  buildings  until  they  came 
very  near  them ;  for  there  were  forests  and  lofty 
mountains  behind  them,  which  looked  dark,  and  so 
the  barns,  and  sheds,  and  granaries  were  concealed. 
The  house,  too,  did  not  show  itself  until  they 
got  almost  to  it.  Lucy  saw  it  first  by  means  of  a 
light  from  one  of  the  windows.  She  did  not  see 
the  light  very  plainly  at  first,  because  it  shone 
through  some  trees  which  were  ui  the  way ;  Dut 


24 


LUCr    AMONG    THE    MOUNTAINS. 


presently,  when  they  came  into  full  view  of  it^ 
they  saw  that  it  was  a  very  bright  light. 

"  They've  got  a  good  fire,"  said  Lucy's  moth- 
er, "  and  I'm  glad  of  it,  for  I  feel  cold." 

"  So  do  I,"  said  Lucy.     "  I'm  glad  they've  got 
a  good  fire." 

Just  at  this  time,  her  father  turned  his  horse  up 
into  a  large  yard,  which  extended  along  by  the 
side  of  the  house.  There  were  various  out-build 
ings  all  around  the  yard,  and  the  great  elm-tree 
hung  over  it  like  a  canopy.  The  elm-tree  was 
very  large,  and  it  stood  pretty  near  the  house,  so 
that  one  half  of  the  branches  overhung  the  house, 
and  the  other  half  the  yard.  Lucy's  father  drovj. 
up  pretty  near  to  the  door. 


25 


CHAPTER    II. 

.  THE  GENERAL'S. 

Just  as  the  chaise  stopped  in  the  yard,  Lucy 
saw  a  boy  coming  in  from  the  barn  towards  the 
house,  with  a  basket  in  his  hand.  He  ran  along 
towards  the  chaise,  and  Lucj-'s  father  asked  him 
if  the  General  was  at  home. 

"Yes,  sir,''  said  the  boy  ;  "  won't  you  walk  in  ? 
I'll  hold  the  horse  while  3'ou  get  out." 

"No,"  said  Lucy's  father  ;  "  we  won't  get  out 
yet.  But  will  you  be  good  enough  to  ask  him 
if  he  will  come  to  the  door  a  moment." 

The  boy  said  he  would,  and  he  went  into  the 
house.  Lucy  expected  to  see  a  man  dressed  in 
uniform,  with  a  gun  in  his  hand,  or  at  least  a 
sword ;  and  also  with  a  feather  in  his  cap,  and 
an  epaulet  on  each  shoulder.  Instead  of  this, 
however,  much  to  her  surprise,  the  boy  came 
out  a  moment  after  he  had  gone  in,  conducting 
a  plain-looking  man,  who  appeared  just  like  a 
farmer. 


26  LUCY    AMONG    1 HE    MOUNTAINS 

"  Is  that  the  General  ?  "  said  Lucy,  whispering 
to  her  mother. 

"  Hush  !  "  said  her  mother. 

The  General  had  a  plain,  farmer-like  look ;  his 
countenance,  however,  was  intelligent  and  ex- 
pressive. He  seemed  very  glad  to  see  the  trav- 
ellers. He  invited  them  to  come  in  immediately, 
—  even  before  he  heard  their  story,  —  and  when 
Lucy's  father  had  told  him  what  their  circum- 
stances were,  he  said,  — 

"  Yes,  yes,  —  I  can  accommodate  you  just  as 
well  as  not.     I  am  very  glad  to  see  you." 

Then  he  told  the  boy  to  hold  the  horse's  head, 
while  he  took  Lucy  out,  and  put  her  down  upon 
a  great  flat  stone  before  the  door.  Then  her 
father  and  mother  got  out,  and  the  General  took 
off  the  trunk,  which  was  strapped  on  behind,  and 
set  it  down  also  upon  the  stone.  He  also  took 
out  the  other  baggage,  and  then  told  the  boy  to 
lead  the  horse  off  to  the  barn,  and  said  that  he 
would  send  out  Joseph  to  help  him  take  care  of 
him.     Then  they  all  went  into  the  house. 

Just  as  they  were  going  in  at  the  door,  Lucy 
said,  in  a  very  low  voice,  to  her  mother,  who  was 
leading  her  by  the  hand,  — 

"  Mother,  I  thought  that  a  general  was  a  kind 
of  a  soldier " 


the   general's.  27 

"  Hush  !  hush  !  Lucv,"  said  her  mother 
Lucy,  therefore,  said  no  more,  but  went  .in. 
She  found  herself  in  a  large  room,  with  a  very 
lar^e  fireplace  in  one  side  of  it.  There  were 
a  great  many  strange  things,  —  that  is,  things 
strange  to  Lucy,  —  all  about  the  room.  There 
was  a  long  wooden  seat,  with  a  very  high  back 
to  it,  by  the  wall,  upon  one  side  of  the  fire. 
There  was  a  round-faced,  happy-looking  girl, 
sitting  on  this  seat,  about  as  bio;  as  Joanna.  She 
was  knitting.  There  was,  also,  a  young  man  sit- 
ting by  a  window  ;  this  was  Joseph  ;  and  he  got 
up  and  went  out  when  the  party  came  in,  in 
order  to  go  to  the  barn,  and  help  take  care  of 
the  horse.  The  General  and  his  wife  put  some 
chairs  before  the  fire,  for  Lucy  and  her  father 
and  mother  to  sit  down  and  warm  themselves. 
Lucy  sat  down  with  the  rest,  but  she  was  so 
much  amazed  at  the  strange  things  before  her,  — 
the  great  hearth,  made  of  monstrous  flat  stones, 
the  black  iron  andirons,  with  the  tops  turning  over 
in  a  curl;  and  the  bright,  blazing  fire,  —  that  she 
did  not  think  much  about  warming  herself. 

Then  Lucy  began  to  look  about  the  room. 
The  light  shone  brightly  upon  the  floor,  and  un- 
der the  tables.  LTnder  one  table  there  was  a 
large  black  dog  sketched  out  straight,  with  his 


28      LUCY  AMONG  THE  MOUNTAINS. 

chin  upon  his  fore  paws,  and  watching  Luc^ 
with  the  eye  that  was  turned  towards  her.  And 
every  time  he  heard  a  noise,  he  would  raise  hig 
head,  and  prick  up  his  ears,  and,  after  listening  a 
minute,  lay  it  down  again.  In  a  minute  or  two, 
Lucy  saw  him  lift  up  his  head  very  suddenly, 
and  look  quite  wild.  Lucy  heard,  herself,  at  the 
same  moment,  a  low  and  distant  sound  of  whis- 
tling, which  seemed  to  be  out  in  the  yard.  The 
dog  started  up,  and  ran  towards  the  door,  and 
stood  there  a  moment,  whining  for  somebody  to 
open  it.  An  instant  afterwards,  a  little  girl,  whom 
Lucy  had  not  seen  before,  came  quick,  and  opened 
the  door,  and  let  him  out.  Then  she  went  back, 
and  took  her  seat  again  upon  a  cricket  in  the 
corner.  She  seemed  to  be  about  as  old  as  Lucy; 
and  Lucy  thought  to  herself,  that  she  wished  she 
was  acquainted  with  her,  and  then  she  would  go 
and  play  with  her.  "And  at  any  rate,"  said 
she  to  herself,  "  I  wish  I  knew  what  her  name 
was." 

Her  name,  in  fact,  was  Ellen.  Lucy  learned 
her  name  pretty  soon  ;  for  the  General's  wife, 
who  was  Ellen's  mother,  called  her,  in  a  few 
minutes,  to  go  and  show  Lucy  and  her  rnothei 
the  way  to  the  bedroom. 

"  Shall  I  light  a  candle,  mother  ?  "  said  Ellen, 


the  general's.  29 

v  Yes,"  said  her  mother. 

Lucy  then  observed  that  Ellen  went  to  a  sort 
of  open  cupboard,  by  the  side  of  the  room,  where 
there  were  a  great  many  dishes  and  tins  in  rows, 
all  nice  and  bright ;  and  she  took  down  an  iron 
candlestick,  with  a  short  candle  in  it,  and  came 
and  lighted  it  by  the  fire.  Then  she  conducted 
Lucy's  mother,  and  Lucy  herself,  out  through  a 
door  in  the  back  side  of  the  room.  The  door 
led  into-  a  small  passage-way ;  and,  from  this 
passage-way,  Ellen  opened  a  door  which  led  into 
a  very  pleasant  little  bedroom.  There  was  a 
oed  in  the  back  side  of  the  room,  and  a  little 
trundle-bed  under  it,  which  Lucy  supposed  was 
for  her.  The  middle  of  the  floor  was  covered 
with  a  small  carpet.  The  rest  of  the  floor  was 
painted.  There  were  two  windows,  with  white 
curtains  hanging  before  them,  and  between  the 
windows  a  table,  covered  with  a  white  cloth. 
Over  the  table  was  a  looking-glass ;  and  there 
was  a  large  pincushion  hanging  under  the  glass 
There  was  also  a  lightstand  in  a  corner  of  the 
room,  with  a  Bible  upon  it. 

Lucy's  father  came  in  immediately  afterwar  Is 
bringing  in  some  of  the  baggage ;  and,  while  he 
was  putting  it  down,  Lucy  went  and  lifted  <ip 
the  rurtain  of  the  window  to  look  out. 
3* 


3C      LUCY  AMONG  THE  MOUNTAINS. 

"  O,  what  a  strange-looking  place !  "  said  Lucy 
"  I  never  saw  such  a  strange-looking  place.    Come 
and  see,  mother." 

Her  mother  went  to  the  window  to  see.  Di 
rectly  before  them,  under  the  window,  there  was 
a  little  green  yard,  with  a  stone  wall  running 
along  the  back  side  of  it.  Beyond  the  wall, 
there  were  trees  and  bushes ;  and  the  land, 
seemed  to  descend  into  a  little  valley,  where 
Lucy  thought  she  could  hear  a  brook  tumbling 
over  stones.  Beyond  the  brook  there  was  a  vast 
forest,  rising  higher  and  higher  up  the  declivities 
of  the  mountains.  The  mountains  were  so  high, 
that  Lucy  had  to  move  away  more  of  the  curtain 
before  she  could  see  the  summits.  They  were 
steep  and  gray.  Lucy  could  see  them  very 
distinctly ;  for  the  moon  had  come  up,  and  was 
shining  upon  them.  In  a  place  lower  down, 
there  was  a  great,  rocky  precipice,  which  pro- 
jected cut  from  among  the  trees.  Lucy  said  to 
nerself,  that  she  was  glad  Royal  did  not  see  it ; 
for,  if  he  did,  she  knew  that  he  would  want  to 
be  climbing  up  to  the  top  of  it,  and  she  should 
De  afraid  that  he  would  fall. 

When  Lucy  went  back  into  the  great  room 
again  with  her  mother,  she  found  that  there  was 
a  round  table  set  out  in   the  middle  of  the  floor, 


THE    GENERAL  S.  31 

and  spread  for  supper.  The  girl,  who  was  sitting 
upon  the  great  seat,  beckoned  to  Lucy  to  come 
and  sit  with  her ;  and  Lucy  went.  She  put 
down  her  knitting,  and  took  Lucy  up  in  her  lap. 
At  first,  Lucy  was  a  little  afraid  ;  but  the  girl 
looked  so  good-humoredly  and  pleasantly  upon 
her,  that  she  soon  began  to  feel  at  her  ease. 

"  What  is  your  name  ? "  said  Lucy,  looking 
up  into  her  face. 

"  Comfort,"  said  the  girl. 

"  Comfort  ?  "  repeated  Lucy. 

"  Yes,"  replied  the  girl. 

"  I  never  heard  of  such  a  name  as  Comfort," 
said  Lucy. 

"  What  is  your  name  ?  "  said  Comfort. 

Lucy  told  her  what  her  name  was,  and  then 
Comfort  asked  her  various  other  questions  about 
their  journey ;  and,  at  last,  Lucy  and  Comfort 
became  quite  well  acquainted.  In  the  mean 
time,  Ellen  was  very  busy  helping  her  mother 
get  the  supper.  There  was  a  round,  flat  cake 
set  up  before  the  fire,  in  an  iron  thing  called  a 
spider,  to  bake,  and  a  pie  put  down  in  a  cornel 
to  warm.  At  length,  Lucy  looked  up  to  Com- 
fort again,  and  said, — 

"Why  don't  you  help  them  get  supper?" 


32 


LUCY    AMONG    THE    MOUNTAINS. 


"  O,  1  don't  do  the  housework,"   said  Com 
fort ;  "  I  spin." 

"  Spin  ? "  repeated  Lucy  ;  "  how  do  you  spin  ? " 

"With  my  spinning-wheel,"  said  Comfort. 
"  There  it  stands,  in  the  corner." 

Lucy  looked  in  the  direction  where  Comfort 
pointed,  and  she  saw  a  very  curious-looking  ma- 
chine, with  one  great  wheel,  something  like  one 
of  the  wheels  of  her  father's  chaise,  only  it  was 
up  in  the  air,  on  the  top  of  the  machine.  The 
machine  had  three  legs,  too,  to  stand  upon. 

Lucy  looked  at  it,  wondering,  when  Comfort 
asked  her  if  she  had  never  seen  a  spinning-wheel. 

"  No,"  said  Lucy. 

"  And  then  you  never  saw  any  body  spin  ? " 

"  No,"  said  Lucy. 

c*  You  shall  see  me,  then,  to-morrow.  I  shall 
spin  all  day  to-morrow. " 

"  I  wish  you  would  show  me  a  little  to-night," 
said  Lucy. 

"  Well,"  said  Comfort,  "  I  will." 

So  Comfort  put  Lucy  down,  and  led  her  to 
the  wheel ;  and  then  she  took  up  a  long,  slender 
rol  of  wool,  from  a  pile  of  such  rolls,  which  was 
ying  across  the  forward  part  of  the  wheel,  and 
Degan  to  spin.  The  wheel  made  a  loud,  buzzing 
noise,  which  seemed  to  Lucy  to  be  very  extra 


the  general's.  33 

ordinary  indeed.  Lucy  stood  before  the  wheel, 
with  her  hands  behind  her,  looking  on,  with  great 
interest,  at  the  spinning,  and  wondering  what 
made  it   buzz. 

Presently,  Comfort  stopped,  and  led  Lucy  back 
to  her  seat,  saying,  "  To-morrow  you  shall  see 
me  spin  more." 

"  But  I  am  going  away  to-morrow,"  said  Lu- 
cy, "  with  my  father  and  mother." 

Just  then,  Lucy  saw  that  the  supper  was  ready, 
and  they  were  putting  the  chairs  around  the  table. 
Not  long,  after  supper,  Lucy's  mother  took  her 
into  the  bedroom,  to  put  her  to  bed.  While  they 
were  in  the  bedroom  together,  Lucy  said  that  she 
wished  her  mother  would  stay  there  several  days. 

"  No,"  said  her  mother ;  "  we  must  go  on  to- 
morrow.  But  perhaps  we  shall  stop  again  when 
we  come  back." 

"  When  are  we  coming  back  ?  "  said  Lucy. 

"  In  about  a  week,"  replied  her  mother. 

"Well,  mother,"  said  Lucy,  "why  can't  you 
and  I  stay  here,  and  let  father  go  on  alone,  and 
call  for  us  when  he  comes  back  ? " 

"  I  shoulc'  like  that,"  said  her  mother.  "  I  will 
ask  him." 

"Well,"  said  Lucy,  with  an  expression  of  great 
satisfaction.     "  Then  I  can  see  Comfort  spin  " 


34  LUC!     AMONG    THE    MOUNTAINS. 

So,  after  Lucy's  mother  had  put  her  to  bed; 
and  was  going  out  of  the  room,  Lucy  called  out 
to  her,  just  as  she  was  shutting  the  door,  — 

"  You'll  be  sure  and  ask  father." 

"  Yes,"  said  her  mother. 

"  And  come  back  and  tell  me  what  he  says." 

"  Perhaps  so,"  said  her  mother.    "  Good  night." 

After  her  mother  had  gone,  Lucy  began  talk- 
ing to  herself,  as  follows :  — 

"  I  hope  we  shall  stay  here ;  then  I  can  see 
Comfort's  lamb.  Comfort  says  she's  got  a  lamb. 
I  wish  I  had  a  lamb,  —  or  a  little  spinning-wheel 
—  if  a  little  one  would  only  buzz.  This  is  the 
way  it  went :   Buzz  —  buzz  —  uz  —  z-z  — ." 

And  in  a  few  minutes,  Lucy  buzzed  herself  tc 
sleap. 


r 
r 


i 

35 


CHAPTER    III. 

THE  INSPECTION. 

Lucy's  plan,  of  having  her  mother  and  herself 
remain  at  the  General's  while  her  father  went  on 
to  finish  his  journey  b}'  himself,  was  adopted,  to 
her  great  joy. 

Lucy  stood  under  the  elm-tree,  and  saw  him 
drive  awa3T,with  great  satisfaction, the  next  morn- 
ing, soon  after  breakfast. 

As  soon  as  her  father's  chaise  was  out  of  sio-ht, 
at  a  curve  in  the  road,  where  some  large  trees 
intercepted  the  view,  Lucy  turned  round  to  go 
into  the  house.  Ellen  was  standing  in  the  door. 
Her  brother,  the  bo}T  who  had  held  the  horse  the 
evening  before,  was  standing  pretty  near,  and,  as 
lie  turned  to  go  on  towards  the  barn,  he  said  to 
Ellen,— 

"Ellen,  is  not  this  inspection  day?" 

"  Yes,"  said  Ellen,  after  hesitating  a  moment, 
"  I  believe  it  is." 

"  Excellent !  "  said  the  boy.     "We  shall  have 


3b  LUCT    AMONG    TTfS    MOUNTAINS. 

some  cakes.     I  am  going  to  eat  mine  on  my 
clearing." 

"  Inspection  ?  "  said  Lucy  to  herself;  "  I  won 
der  what  they  mean  by  inspection." 

But  Lucy  did  not  like  to  ask,  though  she 
wanted  to  know  very  much.  She  did  not  feel 
enough  acquainted  even  with  Ellen,  to  ask.  She 
tiiought  she  would  go  in  and  ask  her  mother. 

She  found  her  mother  in  the  little  bedroom, 
arranging  it.  She  had  put  a  table  before  the 
window,  in  a  place  where  it  would  be  pleasant 
io  sit.  She  had  opened  her  trunk,  and  had  ta- 
ken out  some  paper  and  writing  materials,  so  as 
to  be  ready  to  write  a  letter.  When  Lucy  came 
in,  she  said,  — 

"  Mother,  there  is  going  to  be  an  inspection." 
Is  there  ?  "  said  her  mother. 

^ucy  waited  a  moment ;  but  her  mother  did 
nut  seem  to  be  particularly  interested  in  what  she 
had  said,  and  asked  her  no  questions  about  it,  but 
went  on  arranging  some  books  upon  the  table, 
just  as  if  there  was  not  going  to  be  any  inspec- 
tion at  all.     At  length,  Lucy  said, — 

"What  is  an  inspection,  mother?" 

"  An  inspection  ?  "  said  her  mother,  looking  up, 
why,  it  is  a  kind  of  a  review." 


THE     INSPECTION.  37 

"A  review,  mother?  I  don't  know  what  a 
review  is,  any  better  than  an  inspection." 

"  Why,  it  is  —  a 1  don't  know  how  to 

explain  it  to  you;  —  it  is  a  sort  of  a  training, 
where  several  companies  of  soldiers  come  togeth- 
er, and  the  general  looks  at  them,  and  examines 
their  guns,  and  sees  them  exercise." 

"  What  is  it  for,  mother  ? "  said  Lucy. 

"  Why,  to  see  if  every  thing  is  in  good  order. 
But  is  there  really  going  to  be  an  inspectioH 
about  here,  Lucy  ? " 

"  Yes,  mother,  I  am  sure  there  is,"  replied 
Lucy,  speaking  very  emphatically,  and  looking 
very  positive,  —  "  I  am  sure  there  is,  for  Robert 
said  there  was." 

"  Is  that  boy's  name  Robert  ? "  asked  hei 
mother. 

"  Yes,"  said  Lucy ;  "  and  he  said  there  was 
going  to  be  an  inspection.  Do  you  think  you 
shall  let  me  go  and  see  it,  mother  ? " 

"  Why,  that  depends,"  said  her  mother,  "  upon 
when  and  where  it  is  to  be.  I  can't  tell  you  till 
vou  find  out  something  more  about  it." 

"Well,"  said  Lucy,  "  I'll  go  and  ask  Comfort, 
I  am  not  afraid  to  ask  Comfort." 

So  Lucy  went  out  in  pursuit  of  Comfort. 

Lucy  found   Comfort   at  her  spinning-wheel 


38      LUCY  AMONG  THE  MOUNTAINS. 

The  wheel  was  in  one  corner  of  the  kitchen,  by 
a  window.  It  was  a  great  way  from  the  fire,  foi 
the  room  was  very  large.  Lucy  was  so  much 
interested,  for  a  time,  in  seeing  Comfort  spin, 
that  she  forgot  about  the  inspection.  Comfort 
talked  with  her,  and  explained  something  about 
the  spinning-wheel,  but  did  not  stop  her  work 
First  she  would  whirl  the  wheel  around  one  way 
very  fast  for  a  few  minutes,  and  then  she  would 
stop,  and  then  begin  to  whirl  it  the  other  way. 
Sometimes  she  would  draw  out  a  long  thread  of 
the  yarn,  and  then  the  yarn  would  all  run  up  on 
the  spindle. 

"  Why  don't  you  turn  your  wheel  always  the 
same  way  ?  "  asked  Lucy. 

"  Because,"  said  Comfort,  "  I  have  to  turn  it 
one  way  to  twist  the  thread,  and  then  the  other 
to  run  it  on  the  spindle." 

Lucy  did  not  understand  the  explanation  very 
well,  and  so  she  thought  she  would  look  on  and 
see  how  Comfort  did  it.  But  she  did  it  so 
fast  that  Lucy  could  not  see.  So,  after  she  had 
stood  silently  for  some  time,  hearing  the  wheel 
duzz,  she  asked  Comfort  if  there  was  going  to  he 
an  inspection  that  day. 

"  Yes,"  said  Comfort. 

"  When  is  it  going  to  be  ?  "  asked  Lucv. 


THE   INSP1.CTI0X.  39 

"  Right  after  dinner,"  said  Comfort. 

"  How  far  is  it,"  said  Luc3T,  u  from  here?  " 

"  O,  not  far,"  said  Comfort ;  "  you  shall  go  ; 
I'll  show  }rou." 

So  Lucy  ran  back  to  her  mother,  and  told  her 
that  the  inspection  was  going  to  be  right  after  din- 
ner, and  that  it  was  not  far,  and  that  Comfort 
would  go  and  show  it  to  her. 

"  Well,"  said  her  mother,  "  3rou  ma}T  go  when- 
ever Comfort  goes  ;  but  it  is  very  strange  that 
they  are  going  to  have  an  inspection  up  here.  I 
am  sure  I  don't  see  where  the  troops  are  to  come 
from." 

"  Well,"  said  Lucy,  "I  know  there  is  going  to 
be  one,  because  Comfort  said  so." 

Lucy  was  right.  There  was  going  to  be  an 
inspection,  but  it  was  very  different  from  the  kind 
that  she  had  imagined.  For  that  day,  at  dinner, 
Luc}T's  mother  asked  the  farmer  about  the  inspec- 
tion, and  where  it  was  to  be,  and  he  said,  "  O,  we 
generally  begin  at  the  barn,  and  so  go  all 
around." 

'*  Why,  what  kind  of  an  inspection  is  it?"  said 
Lucy's  mother. 

"  Why,  it  is  not  a  military  inspection,"  said  tb 
farmer,  laughing.     "  Did  3'ou  think  it  was  a  mi7  .- 
tary  inspection,  Lucy?"  he  added,   turning   ,0 
Lucy. 


40      LUCY  4MONG  THE  MOUNTAINS. 

"  Sir  ?  *  said  Lucy. 

"  It  is  not  a  military  inspection  ;  it  is  only  an 
inspection  of  my  farm." 

"  An't  there  any  soldiers  ?  "  said  Lucy. 

"  No,"  said  the  farmer,  "  no  soldiers.  We  in- 
spect the  barn,  and  the  sheds,  and  shop,  and  then 
we  come  into  the  house  and  inspect  the  rooms, 
and  closets,  and  the  cellar,  to  see  if  every  thing  is 
in  order.     We  cannot  show  you  any  soldiers." 

"  My  mother  said  there  were  going  to  be  some 
soldiers,"  said  Lucy. 

"  No,"  said  Lucy's  mother.  "  I  said  that  1 
supposed  they  meant  an  inspection  of  soldiers. 
There  may  be  an  inspection  of  any  thing." 

Lucy  was  quite  disappointed,  when  she  found 
that  it  was  not  to  be  an  inspection  of  soldiers 

However,  she  concluded  to  go  and  see  it,  what- 
ever it  was  ;  and  accordingly,  after  dinner,  she  put 
on  her  bonnet,  and  went  out  to  the  door  with  El- 
len, and  waited  there  for  the  rest  to  come. 

In  a  few  minutes,  she  saw  Robert  coming  from 
a  building  between  one  of  the  barns  and  the  shed, 
with  a  sort  of  a  box  in  his  hand.  The  box  was 
somewhat  similar  to  a  knife-box  fn  form  ;  and,  as 
in  a  knife-box,  there  was  a  handle  in  the  middle, 
coming  up  from  the  bottom  of  the  box,  which 
Robert  took  hold  of,  and  brought  it  by. 


THE    INSPECTION.  41 

*  What  is  that,  Robert  ? "  said  Lucy 
"  This  is  the  tool-box,"  said  Robert. 
"  What  is  it  for  ? "  asked  Lucy. 

*  Why,  I  always  carry  about  a  tool-box  at  the 
inspection,"  said  Robert.  "  Because,  sometimes 
father  finds  something  broken,  that  he  can  mend 
at  once  upon  the  spot." 

By  this  time  he  came  up  to  where  Lucy  was 
standing,  and  he  put  down  the  box  upon  the  great 
stone  step,  so  that  she  could  look  into  it.  The 
box  was  not  very  deep,  and  it  was  divided  off 
inside,  into  several  compartments.  There  was 
one  long  compartment  upon  one  side,  which  ex 
tended  from  one  end  of  the  box  to  the  other.  In 
this  were  several  tools.  There  were  a  hammer 
and  a  gimlet ;  and,  besides,  there  were  several 
other  tools,  which  Lucy  did  not  know  the 
names   of. 

Besides  this  long  compartment,  there  were 
several  small,  square  divisions,  which  had  nails 
and  screws  in  them,  of  different  sizes.  Lucy  said 
she  never  saw  so  many  different  kinds  of  nails. 
While  she  was  looking  at  them,  Robert  began  to 
hear  the  rattling  of  wheels  in  the  road,  and  he 
exclaimed  aloud, — 

"  O,  here  comes  Eben." 

Lucy  looked  to  see.     A  wagon,  with  a  man 
4* 


42      LUCY  AMONG  THE  MOUNTAINS. 

and  a  small  boy  in  it,  stopped  opposite  to  the 
house.  The  boy  appeared  to  be  very  young  — 
younger  than  Lucy.  His  face  was  round,  and 
his  cheeks  were  red  and  full.  He  looked  very 
sober  and  anxious,  for  he  was  afraid  that  he  could 
not  get  out  of  the  wagon,  very  well.  The  man 
took  hold  of  his  arm,  and  helped  him  climb  down. 
Eben  looked  towards  the  ground  with  an  anxious 
expression  of  countenance,  as  if  he  thought  it 
was  a  great  way  down. 

As  soon,  however,  as  his  little  teet  touched  the 
road,  his  countenance  changed  very  suddenly, 
and  he  began  to  leap  and  scamper  off  towards 
the  house,  with  great  glee. 

"  Well,  Eben,"  said  Ellen,  "  and  how  do  they 
do  at  uncle's  ?  " 

"  Pretty  well,"  said  Eben.  "  I'm  going  there 
again  some  day,  and  am  going  to  stay  there  a 
whole  while." 

Lucy  smiled,  and    Robert   laughed   aloud,  at 
such    an  unauthorized  combination  of  terms   as 
Eben's  whole  while.     Eben,  however,  after  look 
ing  at  them  in  wonder  a  moment,  said,  — 

"  You  needn't  laugh  ;  I  certainly  am." 

Just  then  the  General  came  out,  and  the  whole 
party  proceeded  to  the  barn.  The  Genera* 
looked  carefully  all  around,  to  see  if  every  thing 


The  inspection.  43 

was  in  its  place,  and  in  order.  From  the  barn 
they  went  into  a  sort  of  room  in  a  shed  adjoining 
it,  where  there  were  harnesses  and  chains,  and  a 
number  of  tools  of  various  kinds.  The  Genera, 
looked  about,  and  examined  them  all.  There 
were  a  parcel  of  ropes  lying  in  a  corner,  and  the 
General  asked  where  they  came  from.  Robert 
said  that  he  found  them  up  in  the  garret,  and  had 
untied  all  the  knots  ;  he  was  going  to  have  them 
for  his  sleds  the  next  winter. 

The  General  said  that  they  ought  to  be  hung 
up ;  and  he  took  the  hammer  and  some  nails  out 
of  Robert's  tool-box,  and  drove  up  a  row  of  nails, 
just  under  a  beam  about  as  high  as  Robert's  head. 
Then  all  the  children  took  up  the  pieces  of  ropes, 
and  hung  them  up,  one  piece  on  each  nail. 

"  There,"  said  the  General,  "  now  you  can  see 
what  you've  got.  They  are  out  of  the  way  there, 
and  when  you  want  one,  you  can  come  and  get 
any  length  you  like." 

Every  thing  else  in  the  harness  room  was 
found  in  good  order,  and  so  they  went  into  the 
shed.  There  was  a  wood-pile  there  and  some 
of  the  wood  lay  near  the  foot  of  the  pile  upon 
the  ground  ;  for  this  shed  had  no  floor.  One  of 
the  logs  had  a  wedge  sticking  into  it.     The  log 


44      LUCY  AMONG  THE  MOUNTAINS. 

was  cracked  open  a  little,  but  not  very  far,  and 
the  wedge  was  driven  fast  into  it. 

"  How  came  this  left  so  ? "  said  the  Genera!. 

"  Why,  father,"  said  Robert,  "  I  began  to  split 
this  log,  but  I  couldn't." 

While  he  was  saying  this,  the  General  rolled 
the  log  over ;  and  he  found  two  other  wedges, 
lying  on  the  ground,  under  it,  half  covered  in  the 
chips. 

"  One  wedge  in  the  log,  and  two  in  the  chips, 
make  three  signs  of  a  bad  woodman,"  said  the 
General. 

"  Why,  you  see,  father,"  said  Robert,  "  that 
the  ring  of  the  beetle  kept  coming  off,  and  so 
I  couldn't  split  it." 

The  General  then  took  an  axe,  which  was 
standing  in  its  place  pretty  near  where  they  were, 
and  with  a  few  heavy  blows  he  split  the  log,  and 
liberated  the  weds;e  which  had  been  held  in  the 
cleft.  Then  he  told  Robert  to  put  the  three 
wedges  upon  their  shelf,  and  to  carry  the  beetle, 
with  the  loose  ring,  into  the  shop,  and  to  put  it 
with  the  tools  that  were  to  be  mended. 

"  When  is  he  going  to  mend  it  ? "  said  Lucy. 

"  The  first  rainy  day,"  said  Ellen  ;  "  he  always 
sends  off  all  the  broken  things  to  the  s.iop,  and 
then  he  mends  them  some  rainy  day." 


THE    INSPECTION.  45 

Before  Robert  got  back  from  the  shop,  the  in- 
spection party  had  gone  up  a  back  stairway 
which  led  into  a  kind  of  garret,  over  the  kitchen 
part  of  the  house.  Here  there  were  a  great  many 
boxes  and  trunks,  all,  however,  in  good  order 
There  was  a  large  shelf  at  one  end,  with  a  great 
many  herbs  in  bundles.  Then  they  all  went 
through  a  narrow  door  into  another  garret  over  the 
main  body  of  the  house ;  and  thence  they  came 
down  the  front  stairs.  Thev  found  that  the  door  at 
the  foot  of  the  stairs  would  not  shut  very  well ; 
and  the  General,  after  looking  at  it  a  moment,  said 
that  the  latch  was  out  of  order. 

"  Yes,  sir,"  said  Ellen,  "  and  I  wish  you  would 
mend  it,  for  it  troubles  me  every  time  I  want  to 
come  up  stairs." 

"  Have  you  got  a  file  among  your  tools. 
Robert  ? "  said  the  General. 

"  Yes,  sir,"  said  Robert ;  for  Robert  had  come 
back,  before  this  time,  from  the  shop,  and  was  fol- 
lowing them  with  his  box  of  tools. 

The  General  took  out  the  file,  and  also  the 
hammer.  First  he  filed  the  iron  of  the  latch  a 
little ;  then  he  hammered  it  a  little,  and  thus  very 
soon  put  it  in  good  order. 

Ellen  said  that  she  was  very  glad. 


46      LUCY  AMONG  THE  MOUNTAINS. 

They  then  went  into  all  the  rooms  of  the  house, 
except  the  little  bedroom  where  Lucy's  mother 
was.  They  opened  all  the  closet  doors  too,  and 
looked  into  them,  to  see  if  every  thing  was  in 
order.  When  the\T  came  into  the  little  room 
where  Ellen  slept,  there  was  a  little  chest  in  it, 
where  she  kept  her  clothes  ;  and  she  opened  the 
lid,  and  asked  them  all  to  look  in  and  see  if  her 
things  were  not  in  order. 

After  the}^  had  thus  examined  the  whole  house, 
they  went  out  at  the  frontdoor,  and  thence  across 
the  yard  into  the  garden,  They  walked  up  and 
down  all  the  alleys,  looking  at  the  beds  and 
borders,  to  see  if  all  was  in  proper  condition. 

It  was  pretty  late  in  the  season,  and  there 
were  not  many  weeds  growing.  Ellen  and 
Robert  both  had  some  beds  in  one  corner,  where 
they  raised  corn,  and  peas,  and  beans  for 
seed. 

The  General  told  them  it  was  nearly  time  for 
them  to  gather  their  beans. 

When  they  came  out  of  the  garden,  Robert 
asked  his  father  to  look  at  the  hinge  of  the  gate, 
which,  he  said,  was  coming  off. 

There  was  a  narrow  piece  of  board  nailed  upon 
the  post,  and  the  hinges  of  the  gate  were  nailed 
to  that.     By  some  means  or  other,  however,  this 


THE    INSPECTION.  4? 

board  had  got  split  where  the  upper  hinge 
was  fastened  to  it,  and  so  the  hinge  was  loose. 
Robert  pointed  it  out  to  his  father. 

"  Ah,  yes,"  said  he  ;  "  I  am  glad  you  showed 
me  this  ;  very  soon  the  hinge  would  have  come  off, 
and  then  the  lower  hinge  would  have  got  broken. 
Now  we  shall  save  them." 

The  General  then  looked  at  the  board,  and 
said  it  was  split,  and  there  must  be  a  new  one 
made.  So  he  took  out  some  tools  from  Robert's 
box,  and  took  off  the  hinges  very  carefully.  Then 
he  set  the  gate  up  by  the  fence  on  one  side.  Then 
he  took  off  the  split  board,  and  gave  it  to  Eben. 

"  Can  you  carry  that,  Eben,  into  the  shop  ? ' 
Eben  was  a  very  small  boy,  but  he  was  very 
glad  to  help  when  he  could.  He  took  the  board, 
which  was  not  very  heavy,  but  was  about  as 
much  as  he  could  well  carry,  and  began  lugging 
it  along. 

"  Now,  Robert,"  said  the  General,  "  some 
time  this  afternoon,  I  want  you  to  saw  out  a 
piece  of  board  just  the  size  of  that,  and  get  it 
all  ready  to  put  on.  When  it  is  done,  carry  it 
out  to  the  gate,  and  stand  it  up  there.  Also  put 
a  tool-box  there,  and  an  axe,  so  that  every  thing 
will  be  ready,  and  then  remind  me  at  supper -time 
lo  go  and  put  it  on.     1  can  put  it  on  in  a  moment, 


48  LUCY    AMONG    THE    MOUNIAINS. 

if  you  get  every  thing  ready.  —  And  now  the  in 
spection  is  over." 

So  saying,  the  General  went  away,  and  Ellen 
said,  — 

"  Well,  Robert,  you  put  your  tools  away,  while 
I  go  and  get  the  cakes." 

"  The  cakes  ?  "  said  Lucy  ;   "  what  cakes  ? ' 

"  Why,  mother  always  gives  each  of  us  a  cake, 
inspection  day,  so  that  we  may  not  forget  to  re- 
mind father  of  it." 

Lucy  followed  Ellen  into  the  house.  She 
supposed  that  she  would  go  and  ask  her  mother 
for  the  cakes,  and  Lucy  wished  that  she  was 
going  to  have  one  too.  But  Ellen  did  not  go 
after  her  mother.  She  went  directly  to  a  closet. 
As  she  was  opening  the  door  of  the  closet,  she 
said, — 

"  Mother  always  puts  our  cakes  here,  on  a 
particular  shelf — three  of  them,  all  in  a  row." 

They  went  into  the  closet,  and  there  they 
found  the  cakes  ;  only  there  were  four,  instead  of 
three. 

"  Why,  here  are  four,"  said  Ellen  ;  "  mother 
has  made  a  mistake." 

'*  No,"  said  Lucy  ;  w  one  must  be  for  me." 

"So  it  is,"  said  Ellen,  "I've  no  doubt.  I'll 
go  and  ask  mother." 


THE     INSPECTION.  49 

She  accordingly  went  off  to  ask  her  mother, 
and  presently  came  back  saying  that  the  fourth 
was  for  Lucy.  And  she  accordingly  gave  her 
one.  It  was  a  round  cake,  rot  very  thick,  but 
it  looked  as  if  it  was  sweet.  Ellen  carried  the 
other  two  out,  to  give  them  to  Robert  and  Eben. 

Lucy  went  to  show  hers  to  her  mother.  She 
found  her  taking  a  walk  under  the  trees  which 
Lucy  had  seen  from  out  the  bedroom  window. 
Lucy  took  hold  of  her  mother's  hand  with  one  of 
hers,  while  she  held  the  cake  in  the  other ;  and  so 
she  walked  along  with  her,  and  told  her  all  about 
the  inspection. 

Her  mother  listened  with  a  good  deal  of  in- 
terest ;  and  when  she  had  done,  she  said  that  she 
thought  it  was  an  excellent  plan  to  have  an  in- 
spection. 

"  Yes,  mother,  and  so  do  I ;  and  I  wish  yon 
would  have  one  when  we  oo  home." 

"  I  think  I  will,"  said  her  mother. 

"  Once  a  month,  mother,"  said  Lucy  ;  "  it 
must  be  once  a  month.  The  General  has  it  once 
a  month." 

"  Yes,"  said  her  mother,  c*  I  should  think  that 
about  right      I  can  inspect  your  Treasury." 

"  Yes,  mother,"  said  Lucy  ;  "  I'll  keep  it  in 
excellent  order. 


50      LUCY  AMONG  THE  MOUNTAINS. 

"  Only  you  couldn't  mend  the  broken  things 
about  the  nouse,  very  well,"  continued  Lucy. 

"  No,"  said  her  mother ;  "  but,  then,  our  iii 
spection  would  not  be  just  like  a  farmer's.     We 
should  inspect    drawers,    and  closets,   and   cup- 
boards, and  such  places.     I  think  it  will  be  an 
excellent  plan." 

"  And  a  cake  for  me  and  Royal,  at  the  end," 
said  Lucv. 

"  Is  that  an  essential  part  of  the  plan  ?  "  asked 
her  mother. 

"  Essential  ? '  repeated  Lucy  ;  "  what  is  es- 
sential 1  " 

"  Why,  necessary ;  that  is,  is  it  an  indispen 
sable  part  of  the  plan  that  there  should  be  cakes 
distributed  ? " 

"  Why,  yes,"  said  Lucy  ;  "  that  is  to  make  us 
remind  you  of  it.  You  see,  you  would  forget 
when  inspection  day  was  coming,  unless  we  re- 
minded you  ;  and  so  we  must  have  a  cake." 

On  reflection,  Lucy's  mother  concluded  that 
this  was,  as  Lucy  represented,  a  very  important 
part  of  the  plan  ;  and  she  pretty  nearly  concluded 
thai,  when  she  returned  home,  she  would  adopt 
the  inspection  system,  for  her  part  of  tne  house, 
cakes  and  all. 


51 


CHAPTER  IV. 

A  WALK. 

That  evening,  after  the  inspection,  Lucy  and 
her  mother  went  out  to  take  a  walk  upon  a  high 
hill  back  of  the  General's  house,  to  see  the  pros- 
pect. Comfort  told  them  that  the}r  could  get  to 
the  top  of  it  without  going  through  the  grass 
at  all. 

"  Wiry  don't  you  want  to  go  through  the  grass, 
mother?"  said  Lucy. 

"  Because  there  may  be  some  dew  upon  it, 
which  might  wet  our  feet,"  said  her  mother. 
"  But  are}'ou  sure,  Comfort,"  said  she,  "that  we 
can  get  up  to  the  top  without  getting  into  the 
grass  ?  " 

"  Yes,"  said  Comfort,  "  I'm  sure  ;  and  I'll  go, 
if  you  wish,  and  show  you  the  way." 

Lucy's  mother  liked  this  plan  very  much  ;  and 
so  tbey  set  off  together,  about  half  an  hour  be- 
fore sunset.  They  followed  a  cart-road  down 
into  a  little  valley,  and  went  across  the  brook ; 


52      LUCY  AMONG  THE   MOUNTAINS. 

and  then  they  began  to  climb  up  by  a  narrow 
and  rock}'  path  among  the  trees.  The  path  was 
very  steep,  and  it  was  much  farther  than  they 
had  supposed.  In  faetv  Lucy's  mother  soon  be- 
gan to  be  very  tired.  She  was  not  accustomed 
to  climb  up  the  hills. 

Presently  they  came  to  a  rocky  place  under 
some  cliffs,  and  Luc}T's  mother  said  that  she  be- 
lieved that  she  would  not  go  an}*  farther. 

"  O  mother,"  said  Lucy,  "I  want  to  go  to  the 
top  very  much." 

"  Veiy  well,"  said  her  mother ;  "  you  may  go 
with  Comfort,  if  3011  wish  to,  and  I  will  ramble 
about  here.  If  you  don't  find  me  here  when 
you  come  down,  3Tou  may  conclude  that  I  have 
gone  home." 

So  she  turned  off,  and  began  to  walk  along 
under  the  cliffs,  gathering  blue-bells  and  other 
flowers  that  grew  among  the  rocks.  Comfort 
and  Luc}7  left  her,  and  went  on  up  the  steep 
path. 

"  O,  what  a  steep  place! "  said  Lucy. 

"This  is  not  very  steep,"  said  Comfort. 
"  There  are  paths  up  the  mountains  much 
steeper  than  this." 

"Then  I  don't  see  how  3'ou  get  up,"  said 
Luc3T. 


A    WALK.  53 

"  O,  we  climb  along,"  replied  Comfori  "  we 
step  up  from  one  stone  to  another." 

The  path  was  very  tortuous  ;  that  is,  it  turned 
and  twisted  about  a  great  deal  among  the  rocks 
and  around  the  points  of  precipices.  It  was^  in 
fact,  a  very  wild  and  desolate-looking  place  ;  and 
pretty  soon  Lucy  began  to  be  afraid.  She  did 
not  know  exactly  what  she  was  afraid  of,  but  she 
began  to  wish  that  she  had  staid  down  below  with 
her  mother. 

She  was  not  much  accustomed  to  rocks  ana 
mountains,  and  there  was  something  frightful  to 
her  in  the  ragged  precipices,  the  gloomy  thickets 
and  particularly  in  a  dark  ravine,  which  she  coula 
look  down  into  in  one  place.  Besides,  she 
thought  that  perhaps  there  might  be  some  bears 
there. 

She  did  not,  however,  like  to  acknowledge  to 
Comfort  that  she  was  afraid.  So,  after  they  had 
been  walking  along  a  little  while,  she  said,  — 

"How  much  farther  is  it,  Comfort  ?  " 

"  Not  a  great  way.     Why,  are  you  tired  ?  ': 

"  Why,  no,"  said  Lucy,  "  not  exactly ;  but  I 
wish  my  mother  had  come  too." 

"  So  do  I,"  said  Comfort ;  "  she  would  like  the 
prospect,  I  know.  We  can  see  awav  down  to 
the  lower  falls." 


54  LUCY    AMONG    THE    MOUNTAINS. 

"  How  far  is  that  ? "  said  Lucy. 

"  O,  it  is  several  miles,  down  the  valley." 

"  Is  it  as  many  as  seventy  miles  ?  "  said  Lucy 

"  No,"  said  Comfort,  ''  not  quite  seventy." 

"  Is  it  a  hundred  miles,  then  ?  "  said  Lucy. 

"  Why,  a  hundred  miles  are  more  than  seventy, 
child." 

While  Lucy  had  been  talking  thus,  she  had 
been  lagging  behind  Comfort,  and  seemed  reluc- 
tant to  advance.  They  had  come  to  a  steep 
place,  where  they  had  to  climb  up  a  rocky  ascent, 
which  turned,  in  a  spiral  manner,  around  the  point 
of  a  little  precipice.  There  were  bushes  and 
briers  on  each  side,  Growing  out  of  the  crevices  of 
the  rocks,  and  from  the  little  patches  of  earth. 
Comfort  went  up  a  few  steps,  and  then  stopped 
for  Lucy. 

"  Come,  Lucy  ;  why  don't  you  come  ? "  said 
?he. 

"  Why,  I  think,  Comfort,"  said  Lucy,  "  that 
we  had  better  not  go  any  farther.  I  think  we  had 
oetter  go  back  and  find  my  mother." 

"  O,  your  mother  is  safe  enough,  child." 

"  But  I  am  afraid  she'll  get  lost,"  said  Lucy. 

Comfort  laughed  at  Lucy  for  being  afraid  that 
her  mother  would  get  lost. 

"  She  can't  get  lost,"  said  she.     "  She  can't  go 


A    WALK.  55 

but  a  very  little  way  under  the  cliffs  before  sue 
comes  to  the  end." 

"  The  end  of  what  ?  "  said  Lucy. 

"  Why,  the  end  of  the  level  place  where  she 
can  walk,"  said  Comfort.  "  After  you  go  out 
there  a  little  way,  the  rocks  go  right  down,  as 
«teep  as  the  sides  .of  a  house." 

"  Then  I'm  afraid  that  she  will  fall  down 
there,"  said  Lucy. 

Comfort  told  her  there  was  no  danger ;  but  Lu- 
cy would  not  be  convinced.  The  more  she  ar- 
gued, the  less  possibility  there  seemed  to  be  of 
making  any  impression.  The  truth  was,  Lucy 
was  not  really  afraid  for  her  mother,  but  for  her- 
self. And  the  reason  which  she  offered  for  wish- 
ing to  return,  was  only  the  ostensible  reason,  not 
the  real  one  ;  that  is,  it  was  a  reason  that  she 
chose  to  offer,  not  the  one  that  she  really  felt.  It 
is  of  no  use  to  attempt  to  reply  to  reasons  that  are 
only  ostensible,  because  they  are  not  the  ones 
that  really  influence  the  mind  ;  and  so,  even  if 
you  show  that  such  reasons  are  not  good  ones, 
the  person  is  not  convinced  any  more  than  before 
If  Comfort  had  known  that  the  real  reason  w  hy 
Lucy  did  not  want  to  go  any  farther,  was,  that 
she  was  afraid  herself,  perhaps  she  would  have 
sa;d  something  to  encourage  her,  and  lead  her  to 


5G  LUCY   AMONG   THE   MOUNTAINS. 

go  on.  But  while  she  was  only  arguing  against 
Lucy's  supposed  fears  for  her  mother,  she  was 
doing  no  good  at  all ;  for  this  was  not  the  true 
reason.  When,  therefore,  we  attempt  to  argue 
against  people's  objections  to  airything  which  we 
propose,  it  is  very  necessary  first  to  be  sure  that 
the  objections  which  they  offer  are  real  objections, 
not  merely  ostensible  ones. 

Presently  Comfort  proposed  to  Lucy  that  she 
should  go  up  a  little  farther,  and  she  would  come 
to  a  place  where  they  could  see  the  house. 

"  How  much  farther  is  it?"  asked  Lucy. 

"  Only  up  to  the  top  of  this  rock,"  said  Com- 
fort ;  "  come,  I'll  help  you." 

So  saying,  Comfort  came  down  to  where  Lucy 
was  standing,  and  held  out  her  hand  to  her, 
Luc}'  was  still  somewhat  reluctant  to  go ;  but 
Comfort  told  her  that  they  could  see  the  house, 
and  the  yard,  and  very  likely  they  could  see  the 
people  walking  about  there  ;  and  so  Lucj',  on  the 
whole,  concluded  to  go.  Comfort  helped  her  up 
from  one  step  to  another  over  the  ragged  stones, 
and  presently  the}*  reached  the  top. 

Then  they  went  through  some  bushes  a  little 
way,  and  came  out,  a  moment  afterwards,  upon 
a  sort  of  shelf  of  rock,  where  they  had  a  line 
view. 


A  WALK.  57 

It  was  not  a  very  extensive  view,  for  the  other 
rocks  and  trees,  rising  on  each  side,  intercepted 
the  prospect,  excepting  in  the  direction  which 
was  down  towards  the  General's  house.  The 
house  lay  almost  beneath  their  feet ;  and,  as 
Comfort  had  said,  they  could  see  all  the  build- 
ings, and  the  yards,  and  the  garden.  Lucy  saw  a 
large  flock  of  sheep,  too,  coming  up  towards  the 
barn,  from  a  green  path  behind  it. 

"  There,  Luc}',"  said  Comfort,  "  is  not  this  a 
pleasant  place  ?  " 

"Yes,"  said  Lucy,  "and  there's  my  mother 
now,  just  going  into  the  house." 

"  So  she  is,"  said  Comfort ;  "  she  has  got  tired 
of  waiting  for  us,  and  has  gone  in.  Now,  you 
can  go  up  to  the  top  of  the  rock  with  me,  for,  you 
see,  she  is  out  of  danger." 

Lucy  looked  steadily  at  her  mother,  and  in  a 
moment  she  began  to  call  out  to  her  with  a  loud 
voice, — 

"  Mother,  look  at  us." 

But  just  as  the  words  were  uttered,  her  mother 
opened  the  door,  and  went  in,  and  Lucy  saw  the 
door  close  after  her.  Luc}''s  attention  was  next 
arrested  by  seeing  several  cows  come  along  a  lane 
behind  the  house.  Comfort  said  that  thev  were 
coming  from  the  pasture.    Behind  the  cows  were 


58      LUCY  AMONG  THE  MOUNTAINS. 

Robert  a  ad  Eben.  Lucv  could  see  tnat  Lben 
had  a  long  switch  in  his  hand,  and  Robert  nad 
an  axe  over  his  shoulder. 

"  There  are  Robert  and  Eben,"  said  Lucy,  "  1 
verily  believe." 

"  Yes,"  said  Comfort,  "  they  are  driving  home 
the  cows." 

"  So  they  are,"  replied  Lucy  ;  "  but  Robert  has 
got  an  axe  on  his  shoulder.  What  has  he  been 
doing  with  his  axe,  I  wonder  ?  " 

"  O,  I  suppose,"  replied  Comfort,  "  that  he  has 
been  at  work  upon  his  clearing  this  afternoon ; 
and  so,  after  he  had  done  his  work,  he  went  and 
got  the  cows." 

The  road  in  which  the  cows  were  coming,  lee 
down  through  a  valley,  and  it  looked  like  a  very 
pleasant  road  indeed.  Lucy  asked  Comfort 
where  it  led  to,  and  she  said  it  led  up  to  the 
pasture.  Then  she  asked  Comfort  what  she 
meant  by  Robert's  clearing ;  and  Comfort  told 
her  that  Robert  was  clearing  a  piece  of  land 
somewhere  up  the  road,  but  that  she  did  not 
know  exactly  where  it  was,  or  what  sort  of  a 
place  it  was. 

"  I  mean  to  go  down  and  ask  Robert  when? 
his  clearing  is,'   said  Lucv. 


A     WALK.  59 

*f  Then  you  will  not  go  up  to  the  top  of  the 
pock  with  me,"  said  Comfort. 

"No,"  said  Lucy,  "not  this  time.  We  have 
come  high  enough  for  this  time.  I  must  go  down 
and  find  my  mother.     Perhaps  she  will  want  me." 

"See,"  said  Comfort,  "she  has  just  come  to 
the  window  of  her  bedroom." 

Lucy  looked  down  in  the  direction  in  which 
Comfort  pointed,  and  she  saw  her  mother  just 
taking  a  seat  at  the  window.  Lucy  called  to  her, 
and  waved  her  hand  at  her  a  great  deal,  but  she 
could  not  make  her  hear.  She  thought  that  the 
reason  was,  because  the  cow-bells  made  such  a 
noise ;  but  Comfort  told  her  that  it  was  much 
farther  than  it  appeared  to  be. 

Lucy  stopped  to  gather  a  few  flowers  around 
the  spot  where  they  were  standing,  and  then  she 
and  Comfort  descended.  Lucy  was  not  at  all  in 
a  hurry  to  get  home,  for  her  fears  of  the  strange 
and  wild  scenery  around  them  were  much  dimin- 
ished, when  she  found  that  they  were  going  to- 
wards home.  She  kept  constantly  stopping  to 
gather  flowers,  and  to  pick  up  curious  fragments 
of  the  rocks;  and  in  one  place  she  found  some 
beautiful  red  berries,  which  she  wanted  to  gather 
and  carry  down  to  her  mother ;  but  Comfort  told 
fter  that  she  believed  that  they  were  poisonous. 


61)  LUCY    AMONG    THE     MOUNTAINS. 

They  remained  some  time  at  the  cliffs  where 
her  mother  had  stopped,  and  Lucy  found  a  curious 
place  under  the  rocks,  which  she  called  a  den. 
It  was  a  rude  fissure  under  the  precipice,  and  it 
\vas  laroe  enough  for  Lucy  to  set  into.  She  said 
that,  if  she  should  be  caught  out  on  the  mountains 
in  a  shower,  she  could  get  into  her  den,  and  it 
would  not  rain  upon  her. 

When  they  got  home  again,  as  they  ;vere  pass- 
ing along  by  the  barn,  they  saw  the  cows  stand- 
ing in  a  little  green  yard,  and  Robert  was  just 
bringing  his  milking-stool  and  a  tin  pail.  He  was 
going  to  milk  the  cows.  Lucy  asked  Comfort  to 
let  her  go  in  and  see  him  milk,  and  she  told  her 
she  might  go ;  only  she  said  that  she  must  be 
careful  not  to  s:o  too  near  the  cows. 

So  Comfort  went  into  the  house,  and  Lucy 
went  through  a  little  gate  into  the  yard.  Ellen 
came  in  just  after  her,  bringing  a  little  milking- 
stool,  and  pail  too,  just  as  Robert  had  done. 

"  Are  you  going  to  milk,  too,  Ellen  ? "  said 
Lucy. 

"  Yes,"  said  Ellen  ;  "  I  milk  every  night." 

So  Ellen  took  her  seat  near  one  of  the  cows 
md  began  milking  into  her  pail  very  fast. 

"  Why,  how   easy  it  is  to  milk  ! "  said   Lucy 
k'  I  did  not  know  that  it  was  so  easy." 


A    WALK.  61 

Lucy  was  mistaken  in  supposing  that  it  was 
very  easy.  It  is  a  general  rule,  that  whatever  we 
see  done  skilfully  appears  to  be  done  with  ease ; 
and  as  Ellen  was  a  very  good  little  milkmaid, 
and  the  milk  came  down  in  fine  large  streams  into 
the  pail,  Lucy  supposed  that  it  must  be  very 
easy. 

"  I  wish  you  would  let  me  milk  a  little,"  said 
Lucy. 

"  I  don't  think  you  can  milk,"  replied  Ellen. 

"  O,  yes,  I  can  "  said  Lucy  ;  "  I  do  harder  things 
than  that." 

"  But  I  don't  think  your  hand  is  strong  enough," 
said  Ellen. 

Lucy  held  out  her  hand,  and  looked  at  it,  and 
thought  it  looked  pretty  strong. 

"  And,  besides,"  said  Ellen,  "  have  you  ever 
learned  to  milk  ?  " 

"  No,"  said  Lucy,  "  I  never  had  any  oppor- 
tunity." 

"  Then  I'm  sure  you  can't  milk,"  said  Ellen  * 
tc  for  nobody  can  milk  till  they  have  learned." 

"  But  I  wish  that  you  would  let  me  try,  and 
see,"  said  Lucy. 

Ellen  concluded,  on  the  whole,  to  let  Lucy  try  ; 
so  she  rose  from  the  mil  king-stool,  and  let  Lucy 
take  her  place. 

6 


02  LUCY    AMONG    'I  HE    MOUNTAINS. 

Lucy  tried  very  hard,  but  the  milk  would  :ioi 
come.     She  was  very  much  surprised. 

"  Why  !  "  said  she.  Then  she  tried  again  ; 
she  tugged  away  with  all  her  strength.  "  Why ! 
How  do  you  do  it  ? "  said  she. 

Ellen  laughed ;  and  the  cow,  perceiving  that 
some  new  and  inexperienced  hand  was  at  work, 
and  not  liking  to  be  experimented  upon,  began  to 
move.  Ellen  had  just  time  to  catch  up  the  pail, 
when  she  walked  quietly  off,  two  or  three  steps, 
and  then  stood  still. 

Lucy  was  frightened,  and  jumped  up  and  ran. 

Ellen  took  up  her  stool  by  its  handle,  and  fol- 
lowed the  cow ;  and,  taking  her  seat  again,  went 
on  with  her  milking.  Lucy  walked  off  to  Robert, 
and  asked  him  about  his  clearing. 

She  did  not,  however,  have  the  opportunity  to 
get  the  information  which  she  wished  ;  for  just 
then  her  mother,  who  began  to  think  that  it  was 
time  for  her  to  come  down  the  hill,  came  to  the 
door  to  look  for  her ;  and  seeing  her  in  the  yard 
amonff  the  cows,  she  called  to  her  to  come  in. 
When  she  got  to  the  door,  she  asked  her  mothet 
if  she  was  not  willing  to  have  her  stay  there  a 
little  longer  and  see  them  milk. 

"  Is  Comfort  there  ?  "  asked  her  mother. 

"  No,  mother,"  said  Lucy,  "  but  Ellen  is." 


A    WALK. 


6S 


"I  am  afiaid  you  may  get  hurt,"  said  hei 
mother.     "  The  cows  may  hook  you." 

Lucy  assured  her  mother  that  there  was  no 
darger ;  but  ner  mother  thought  it  best  for  her 
not  to  go  there  again  ;  and  so  Lucy  did  not  hear 
any  thing  about  Robert's  clearing  until  the  i«»xt 
morning. 


64 


CHAPTER    V. 

ROBERTS   CLEARING. 

In  fact,  Lucy  forgot  to  ask  Robert  about  ns 
clearing  until  the  next  morning,  after  breakfast, 
when  she  was  out  in  the  yard,  and  saw  him  and 
Eben  preparing  to  go  awaj . 

She  asked  them  where  they  were  going. 

"  We  are  going  to  my  clearing,"  said  Robert ; 
"and  I  wish  you'd  go  too,  and  be  our  teamster. 
Then  you  shall  own  part  of  my  lamb." 

"  Have  you  got  a  lamb  ?  "  asked  Lucy. 

"  No,"  replied  Robert,  "  not  yet ;  but  I  am 
going  to  have  one.  As  soon  as  I  have  got 
my  clearing  done,  father  is  going  to  give  me  a 
sheep  and  a  lamb ;  and  you  shall  own  part  of  the 
lamb,  if  you  will  go  and  be  my  teamster." 

"  Your  teamster  ?  "  repeated  Lucy. 

"  Yes,"  replied  Robert ;  "  1  am  swamper,  and 
Eben  is  ox,  and  we  want  a  teamster." 

"What  shall  I  have  to  do?  "  asked  Lucy. 

"  O,  you'll  only  have  to  drive  Eben4  when  he 
is  hauling  the  logs." 


Robert's  clearing.  65 

"  Eben  can't  haul  logs,"  said  Lucy. 

"  Yes  he  can,"  said  Robert ;  "  he's  a  very  good 
ox  ;  only  we  want  a  teamster." 

"  Well,"  said  Lucy,  "  I'll  go  and  ask  my 
mother." 

Lucy  accordingly  went  in  and  asked  her  mother. 
Her  mother  wanted  to  know  how  far  it  was  to 
the  clearing;  but  Lucy  could  not  tell.  She  then 
wanted  to  know  how  long  they  were  to  be  gone ; 
but  Lucy  could  not  answer  that  question  either. 
Finally,  her  mother  said  that  she  might  go  and 
ask  Comfort  if  she  thought  that  it  would  be  safe 
for  her  to  go  with  the  boys,  and  let  her  opinion 
decide  the  question. 

Comfort  said  there  would  be  no  danger  if  Lucy 
was  careful  to  keep  out  of  the  way  of  Robert's 
axe.     So  they  all  set  off  together. 

They  followed  the  lane  where  Lucy  had  seen 
the  cows  come  down  the  evening  before,  for  some 
distance.     It  led,  in  a  winding  direction,  up  a  val 
ley,  with  a  brook  upon  one  side  of  the  road. 

"  What  a  pretty  brook  !  "  said  Lucy. 

('  Yes,"  said  Robert ;  "  that  is  the  brook  that  1 
am  going  to  float  aown  my  logs  upon." 

"  Your  logs  ?  "  repeated  Lucy. 

"  Yes,"  replied  Robert,  "  the  logs  I  get  off  my 
clearing      I  cut  them  down,  and  Eben  hauls  them 


60  I.UCY    AMONG    THE    MOUNTAINS. 

to  the  edge  of  the  brook ;  and  then,  when  there 
conies  a  freshet,  we're  going  to  tumble  them  in, 
fend  let  them  float  down  to  the  house." 

"  And  then  they'll  go  by,"  said  Lucy,  "  and 
down  into  the  river." 

"  No,"  said  Robert ;  "  I  shall  have  a  boom  to 
stop  them." 

"  What  is  a  boom  1 "  asked  Lucy. 

"  A  long  log  of  wood  across  the  brook,  to  stop 
my  logs." 

The  brook  which  Robert  said  was  going  to 
float  down  his  lumber,  was  there  a  small  stream, 
tumbling  over  rocks  along  the  valley.  Presently, 
however,  they  came  to  a  place  where  the  valley 
widened  a  little,  and  there  was  a  level  piece  of 
ground  on  one  side  of  it.  On  the  other  side,  the 
land  descended  steep  to  the  very  brink  of  the 
brook.  The  low  piece  of  ground  was  covered 
pretty  thick  with  tall  alder-bushes,  twice  as  high 
as  a  man's  head  ;  so  that  the  stems  of  them,  when 
they  were  cut  down,  made  pretty  large  poles. 
Thsre  was  one  spot,  where  a  considerable  number 
of  them  had  been  cut  down.  In  the  middle  of 
this  spot,  there  was  a  pile  of  branches  and  tops, 
heaped  up  pretty  high.  There  were,  also,  near 
the  edge  of  the  brook,  some  pies  of  the  wood 
wh'ch  Robert  had  £Ot  out,  and  which  Eben  had 


Robert's  clearing.  67 

hauled  to  the  bank.  Robert  went  into  this  place, 
and  began  at  once  to  cut  down  one  of  the  tallest 
bushes. 

Lucy  watched  the  blows  of  his  axe,  until,  at 
last,  the  tree  began  to  fall.  It  would  have  fallen 
over  upon  her,  had  not  Robert  called  upon  her  to 
run  away.  When  it  was  down,  Robert  cut  off 
the  top  and  all  the  branches,  and  these  he  put  on 
the  heap.  Then  he  cut  the  long  pole  in  two,  in 
the  middle.  This  made  two  short  poles  of  it. 
Then  Eben  came  up  with  a  small  chain  which 
he  had  in  his  hand,  and  which  he  had  brought 
with  him,  and  contrived  to  hook  it  around  one 
end  of  one  of  the  poles,  and  then  began  to  draw 
it  off  towards  the  brook 

"  Is  that  the  kind  of  log  you  meant,  that  Eben 
could  draw  ?  "  asked  Lucy. 

"  Yes,"  said  Robert. 

"  O,  I  thought  you  meant  a  large  log." 

"  No,"  said  Robert ;  "  we  call  these  our  logs. 
vVe  are  going  to  get  a  great  many  piles  of  them 
by  the  brook  ;  and  then,  when  there  comes  a  freshet, 
we  are  coming  up  here,  and  going  to  tumble  them 
in,  and  let  them  sail  away  down  home." 

Robert  cut  Lucy  a  long  stick  for  a  goad-stick, 
and  then  she  drove  Eben  back  and  forth  several 


68      LUCY  AMONG  THE  MOUNTAINS. 

times,  drawing  the  logs,  as  Robert  called  them 
At  length,  Lucy  stopped,  and  said,  — 

"  But,  Robert,  what  do  you  mean  by  swamper  1 
You  said  that  you  were  swamper." 

"  Yes,"  said  Robert ;  "  I'm  swamper  and  chop- 
per too." 

"  1  don't  understand  what  you  mean  by  swamper 
and  chopper,"  said  Lucy. 

"  Why,  when  they  are  cutting  trees  in  the  woods, 
for  timber,  they  always  have  a  swamper,  and  a 
chopper,  and  some  oxen,  and  a  teamster.  The 
swamper  finds  out  which  the  good  trees  are,  and 
he  makes  a  road  to  them,  so  that,  when  they  are 
cut  down,  they  can  haul  them  out.  The  chopper 
cuts  them  down,  and  cuts  off  the  top.  Then  the 
teamster  comes  with  his  oxen,  and  hauls  them  off 
to  the  river." 

"  Is  that  the  way  ? "  said  Lucy. 

"  Yes  ;  my  father  told  me,"  said  Robert. 

"  Why  doesn't  one  man  do  it  all  ? "  said  Lucy. 

"  I  don't  know  exactly,"  said  Robert ;  "  but  I 
wish  I  had  some  fire  here,  to  set  my  heap  on  fire." 

"  Are  you  going  to  set  that  great  heap  on  fire  ->  " 
asked  Lucy. 

"Yes,"  said  Robert,  "when  I  get  it  big 
enough." 


ROBERTS    CLEARING.  69 

"I  don't  believe  it  will  bum,"  said  Lucy;  "  it 
is  all  green  leaves." 

"  It  will  burn,"  said  Robert,  "  if  I  could  only 
get  it  well  on  fire.  The  trouble  is,  to  set  it 
a-going." 

So  saying,  he  and  Lucy  went  up  to  look  at  the 
great  heap  of  branches  which  he  had  made  in  the 
middle  of  his  clearing.  Robert  said  that,  if  he 
could  find  some  good  dry  wood  somewhere  to  begin 
it  with,  it  would  make  a  noble  fire ;  and  he  also 
said  that  he  meant  to  have  brought  some  fire  that 

O 

morning,  but  he  forgot  it.  Finally,  he  said  that, 
if  Lucy  and  Eben  would  go  and  get  some  fire,  he 
would  find  some  good  dry  wood,  and  they  would 
have  a  burning. 

Lucy  was  at  first  afraid  to  attempt  to  bring 
any  fire  ;  but  Robert  told  her  that  Comfort  would 
give  her  a  lantern,  so  that  it  could  be  brought 
without  any  difficulty  or  danger.  Then  she  was 
afraid  that  she  should  not  be  able  to  find  her  wav. 
But  Robert  said  that  Eben  knew  the  way  ;  and 
so,  at  last,  after  much  hesitation,  Lucy  concluded 
to  go.  Accordingly,  Robert  went  over,  across  the 
brook,  to  the  side  of  the  hill,  which  was  covered 
with  large  trees,  to  see  if  he  could  find  some  old 
dry  log  or  stump,  which  he  could  cut  to  pieces, 
und  use  to  kmdle  his  fire.     He  found  one  with- 


TO  LUCY   AMONG   THE   MOUNTAINS. 

out  much  difficulty.  It  was  the  ruins  of  an  old 
tree,  which  the  wind  had  blown  over  about  ten 
years  before.  It  was  leaning  against  the  other 
trees,  and  was  very  much  deca}Ted.  The  limbs 
had  nearly  all  dropped  off,  and  it  looked  so  dry 
that  Robert  thought  that,  if  he  could  get  it  down, 
and  split  it  up,  it  would  be  excellent  for  his 
fire. 

In  the  mean  time,  Lucy  and  Eben  walked 
along  slowly  towards  the  house.  When  they  got 
there,  Luc}T  sat  down  upon  a  chopping-block  in 
the  yard,  while  Eben  went  in  to  ask  his  mother  for 
the  lantern.  While  he  was  gone,  Lucy  happened 
to  think  that,  perhaps,  her  mother  would  not  like 
to  have  her  go  and  help  make  a  fire  in  the  woods, 
and,  at  aivy  rate,  that  she  had  better  go  and  get 
leave.  She  reflected  that,  if  she  went  without 
leave,  she  should  feel  uncertain  and  doubtful,  all 
the  time,  whether  she  was  doing  right  or  wrong  ; 
and  that  would  destroy  the  pleasure  of  the  fire. 
So  she  got  up,  and  went  into  the  house  to  find  her 
mother. 

She  found  her  seated  at  a  window  in  the  kitch- 
en, with  the  General's  wife  and  Ellen,  all  par- 
ing apples  for  an  apple  pudding  which  they  were 
going  to  have  for  dinner. 

"O  mother,"  said  Luc}*,  u  let  me  pare  some 
apples." 


Robert's  clearing.  71 

"0,  no,  Lucy,"  said  Ellen;  ''you'll  only  cut 
your  lingers.  It  is  harder  to  pare  apples  than 
it  is  to  milk." 

The  farmer's  wife  then  said  that  she  had  better 
not  attempt  to  pare  any  apples,  but  that  she 
might  have  some  to  eat ;  and  she  gave  Lucy 
two.  Just  then  Eben  came  in,  out  of  a  back 
room,  with  the  lantern  in  his  hand.  This  re- 
minded Lucy  of  her  errand,  and  so  she  told  her 
mother  what  Robert  was  going  to  do  ;  and  she 
asked  her  if  she  had  any  objection  to  her  going 
to  see  him. 

"  Why,  this  is  a  serious  question,"  said  her 
mother.     •'  I  am  afraid  it  would  not  be  quite  safe." 

"  Why,  Eben  says,"  replied  Lucy,  "  that  they 
often  make  fires  in  the  wood,  and  they  never  get 
burnt." 

"  But  you'd  be  in  more  danger  than  Eben," 
said  her  mother. 

"  Why,  mother  ?  "   asked  Lucy. 

"  Because,"  said  her  mother,  "  in  the  first  place 
you  are  not  so  accustomed  to  fires  in  the  woods, 
and  wouldn't  know  so  well  where  the  danger 
would  lie.  Besides,  your  clothes  are  of  cotton, 
and,  if  they  should  take  fire,  they  would  burn 
very  fast;  but  Eben's  are  woollen." 

Lucy  looked    at   her   clothes,   and    at    Eben'fe 


72      LUCY  AMONG  THE  MOUNTAINS. 

Eben  stood  by,  listening  very  attentively  to  what 
was  said,  but  he  made  no  reply. 

"  I've  a  great  mind  to  go  with  you,  and  take 
care  of  you,"  said  Lucy's  mother.  "  I  should 
like  to  see  the  fire  myself." 

"  Well,"  said  Lucy,  "  that  will  do.  Eben  and 
I  will  walk  011,  and  you  can  come  after  us." 

"  Very  well,"  replied  her  mother  ;  "  run  along." 

Accordingly,  Lucy  and  Eben  set  off  together 
Eben  had  the  lantern  in  his  hand,  and,  after  they 
had  gone  a  few  steps,  Lucy  wanted  to  look  in, 
and  see  whether  it  had  not  gone  out.  It  was  not 
quite  out,  but  it  burned  very  dimly.  Lucy  said  il 
was  almost  out. 

"  No,"  said  Eben  ;  "  that  is  the  way  it  always 
looks." 

"  Then  it  i^n't  a  very  good  lantern,"  said 
Lucy. 

"  Yes,  it  is  a  good  lantern,"  said  Eben.  "  It 
makes  a  good  light  in  our  barn  in  the  wintei 
nights." 

"  How  do  you  know  ?  "  said  Lucy. 

"Because,"  said  Eben,  "  my  father  carries  it 
out ;  and  one  morning  I  went  out  with  him,  and 
we  found  some  eggs  with  it." 

"  Where  did  you  find  them  ?  "  said  Lucy. 


eobeet's  clearing.  73 

"  O,  on  a  beam.  There  were  four  eggs.  My 
father  brought  in  three,  and  I  brought  in 
three." 

"  O,  Eben,"  said  Lucy,  "that  is  not  right. 
Three  and  three  don't  make  four." 

"Then  perhaps  it  was  ten,"  said  Eben. 
"  Yes,  I  believe  it  was  ten." 

"  Wiry,  no,  Eben,"  said  Lucy,  "  it  could  n't  be 
ten." 

"Why  not?"  asked  Eben. 

"Because,"  said  Lucy,  "three  and  three  don't 
make  ten  ?  " 

"  What  do  they  make?  "  said  Eben. 

"  Why,  they  make  six,"  replied  Luc}\  "  I'll 
get  a  little  stick,  and  make  some  marks  upon  the 
ground,  and  show  you." 

So  "Lucy  got  a  stick,  and  began  making  marks 
upon  a  smooth  place  in  the  road,  corresponding 
with  the  number  of  eggs.  On  more  mature  re- 
flection, Eben  recollected  that  he  brought  in  two 
eggs,  one  in  each  hand,  and  that  his  father  carried 
in  two  in  one  hand,  and  one  in  the  other.  He 
had  one  egg,  he  said,  in  the  hand  which  held  the 
lantern. 

"Then  there  must  have  been  five  eggs  in  all," 
said  Lucv. 

"  In  order  to  prove  this  to  Eben's  satisfaction, 
she  made  two  marks  for  the  eggs  which  he  carried 


74      LUCY  AMONG  THE  MOUNTAINS. 

in,  and  then  two  more  for  those  which  his  fathei 
carried  in  in  one  hand,  and  then,  finally,  she 
added  another  mark,  for  the  one  egg  which  hif 
father  carried  in  in  his  lantern  hand. 

"  Now,"  said  Lucy,  "  if  you'll  count  them  all 
up,  you'll  see  that  it  makes  just  five,  —  exactly  " 

So  Eben  began  to  count,  — 

"  One  —  two  —  five  —  six  —  four." 

"  O  dear  me  !  "  said  Lucy ;  "  why,  that  isn  t 
the  way  to  count." 

"  That's  the  way  /count,"  said  Eben. 

Lucy  looked  extremely  perplexed,  and  did  not 
know  what  to  say  ;  but  just  at  that  moment  her 
mother  came  up.  She  saw  that  the  lantern 
which  Eben  had  put  down  upon  the  ground, 
while  he  was  listening  to  his  lesson  in  arithmetic, 
was  leaning  over  to  one  side ;  and  she  was  afraid 
that  the  light  had  got  put  out.  So  she  took  ,t  up, 
and  looked  into  it. 

"  No,"  said  Lucy,  "  it  has  not  gone  out,  ut 
it  burns  very  dim.  What  makes  it  burn  so  di  , 
mother  ?  "  she  asked. 

"  O,  it  burns  very  well.     It  looks  rather  din 
but  that  is  because  it  is  bright  daylight.     A  cand't 
burning  in  the  daylight  always  looks  dim." 

Her  mother  then  asked  her  what  she  w  -. 
makmg  there  in  the  road.     Lucv  told  her  tna 


eobeet's  cleaelktg.  77 


she  bad  been  trying  to  explain  to  Eben  that  two 
and  three  made  five. 

"  But,"  said  Lucy,  in  addition,  "I  cannot  make 
him  understand  it.     He  can't  even  count." 

"Then,  of  course,"  replied  her  mother,  "  he 
cannot  understand.  You  are  giving  him  your 
instructions  in  the  wrong  order." 

"  How,  mother?  "  said  Lucy. 

"  Wiry,  you  are  trying  to  teach  him  addition 
before  he  knows  how  to  count.  You  perceive 
that  a  bo}'  who  cannot  count  up  to  five  and  six 
does  not  know  what  numbers  the  words  five  and 
six  stand  for ;  and,  of  course,  he  cannot  tell 
whether  two  and  three  make  five,  or  six,  or  what 
they  make." 

"  Then  I'll  teach  him  to  count,"  said  Lucy. 

"  Veiy  well,"  said  her  mother  ;  "  only  let  us 
all  go  along  now,  for  I  want  to  see  the  fire." 

"0,  3'es,"  said  Luc}' ;  u  I  forgot  all  about  the 
fire." 

So  they  all  went  along  together ;  only  Lucy 
and  Eben  walked  on  a  little  in  advance,  and 
Lucy  gave  Eben  some  lessons  in  counting, 
while  her  mother  followed  more  slowly,  looking 
for  flowers  on  each  side  of  the  wra3',  as  she  came 
alon«;. 

In  a  short  time,  the}-  arrived  at  Robert's  clear- 
7* 


TS  LUCY    AMONG    THE     MOUNTAINS. 

ing.  They  found  that  he  had  made  fine  prepara 
uons  for  the  fire.  He  had  cut  down  the  old  dead 
tree,  and  chopped  it  up  into  short  pieces;  and 
ne  had  pushed  these  in,  under  the  pile.  He  also 
had  some  strips  of  birch  bark,  which  he  was  going 
to  kindle  with. 

Lucy  came  up  to  the  place  with  the  lantern, 
and  set  it  down  at  Robert's  feet.  Her  mothei 
came  up,  too,  with  a  large  bouquet  of  flowers  in 
one  hand. 

"  That  will  make  a  good  fire,  Robert,"  said 
she ;  "  only  it  seems  to  me  that  you  have  got  the 
wood  in  on  the  wrong  side  of  the  heap.' 

"  Why  ?  "  said  Robert. 

"  Because,"  replied  she,  "  it  ought  to  be  put  at 
the  side  towards  the  wind.  Then  the  wind  will 
blow  the  heat  and  flame  directly  through  the 
heap,  and  set  it  all  on  fire.  There  is  not  much 
wind,  but  there  is  enough  to  do  some  good." 

"  We'll  try  this  side  first,  now  I've  got  it 
ready,"    said    Robert. 

So  he  took  one  of  his  pieces  of  birch  bark,  and. 
opening  the  lantern  door  very  carefully,  he  put  it 
in,  and  lighted  it.  Now,  birch  bark,  when  it  is 
burning,  makes  quite  a  smoke ;  and  Robert  pul 
down  this  burning  piece  near  the  place  wheie  he 
had  put  his  wood,  in  order  t*   see    which  wa] 


ROBERTS    CLEARING.  7  \f 

the  smoke  would  go.     He  found  that  it  was  drift 
ing  off  slowly  away  from  the  heap  of  bushes. 

"  Now,  we'll  try  it  on  the  other  side,"  said  he. 
He  tried  to  take  up  his  piece  of  bark,  but  he 
could  not.  It  had  curled  itself  up  in  a  curious 
manner,  and  was  all  enveloped  in  flame.  So  he 
took  another  piece,  and  lighted  it,  and  carried  that 
around  to  the  other  side  of  the  heap.  He  put  it 
in  just  under  the  edge  of  the  branches.  The 
smoke  curled  up  among  the  branches  and  leaves, 
and  they  were  all  very  much  pleased  to  observe, 
that,  instead  of  sailing  off,  as  it  had  done  on  the 
other  side,  away  from  the  heap,  it  passed  directly 
through  the  centre ;  and  in  a  few  minutes  it  filled 
the  whole  heap  with  smoke,  which  issued  out  all 
over  the  top  of  it,  as  if  it  was  all  on  fire  under- 
neath. 

"  Yes,"  said  Robert,  "  I'll  move  my  kindling 
wood  round  to  this  side." 

So  lie  brought  his  logs  round  one  by  one. 
They  were  pretty  large,  but,  being  much  decayed ., 
they  were  not  heavy.  Robert  piled  them  to- 
gether in  as  close  and  compact  a  manner  as  pos- 
sible ;  for  he  said  it  was  necessary  to  make  a 
solid  fire. 

"  Why  don't  you  set  the  bushes  Dn  fire,  just 
as  they  are  ?  "  asked  Lucy's  mother. 


80      LUCY  AMONG  THE  MOUNTAINS. 

'  Why,  we  can't  make  such  brush  as  this  burn 
well  alone/*  said  Robert.  "  It  will  catch  fire  a 
little,  and  then  go  right  out,  unless  we  have  a 
good  solid  fire  underneath  it.  Then  it  will  all 
get  to  blazing  together." 

"  Let  me  try,"  said  Lucy,  "  with  a  piece  of 
your  birchbark." 

"  I'll  light  it  for  you,"  said  her  mother. 

So  they  took  a  large  piece  of  birch  bark,  which 
Robert  handed  them,  and  lighted  it  in  the  lantern. 
Then  they  placed  it  under  the  heap,  at  a  place 
where  the  sprigs  and  branches  of  the  bushes 
were  thickest.  The  bark  soon  began  to  blaze 
up  well,  and  immediately  the  leaves  and  branches 
above  it  began  to  take  fire. 

"  There,"  said  Lucy,  "  it  bums." 

il  Wait,"  said  her  mother ;  "  let  us  see  how  it 
will  work." 

It  blazed  up  finely  very  soon,  making  a  bright 
flame,  nearly  a  foot  high,  and  the  wind  blew  the 
smoke  and  sparks  directly  through  the  top  of  the 
heap.  Lucy,  and,  in  fact,  her  mother,  expected 
that  it  would  set  the  whole  heap  on  fire. 

Robert  and  Eben  looked  on  in  silence. 

In  a  moment  the  blaze  began  to  subside.  Il 
burned  fainter  and  fainter,  and  at  last,  after  a  few 
minutes,  it  all  died  away,  leaving  nothing  but  a 


ROBERT'S    CLEARING. 


SI 


hole  in  at  part  of  the  heap,  with  the  bright  ends 
of  the  twigs,  which  had  been  burned  of]  all  around, 
pointing  in  towards  the  centre. 

By  this  time,  Robert  was  prepared  to  put  fire 
to  his  loss,  and  he  soon  £Ot  them  well  on  fire 
He  had  pushed  them  in  as  far  under  the  heap  as 
he  could,  and  the  wind  carried  the  he2t  and 
flame  through  the  very  heart  of  it.  In  a  few 
minutes,  large  volumes  of  white  smoke  came  pour- 
ing up,  out  of  the  top  of  the  pile,  in  the  most  beau- 
tiful manner.  Flashes  of  flame  soon  began  to 
break  out  in  the  midst  of  this  smoke,  and  in  a 
short  time  they  all  had  to  stand  back  from  the 
heat  produced  by  the  high,  crackling  flames. 
After  some  time,  they  all  went  up  upon  a  bank 
near  by,  under  some  trees,  and  sat  down  upon  a 
small  log,  to  watch  the  progress  of  the  fire. 


82 


CHAPTER    VI 

PHILOSOPHY. 

"  What  a  noble  great  fire !  "  said  Lucy. 

"  Yes,"  replied  her  mother ;  "  in  the  night  I 
think  that  that  fire  would  make  quite  a  spectacle." 

"  Would  it  burn  brighter  in  the  night  ? "  said 
Lucy. 

"  No,  it  would  not  really  burn  any  brighter,  but 
it  would  look  brighter.  It  would  illuminate  the 
whole  sky.  It  is  a  fine  fire  now ;  but  it  does  not 
make  such  a  display  in  the  daytime,  as  it  would 
in  the  night.  Just  like  the  candle  in  your  lantern  ; 
you  remember  how  dim  it  looked.  That  was  be- 
cause it  was  surrounded  by  daylight." 

"  I  should  think  we  could  see  things  better  by 
daylight,"  said  Lucy. 

"  We  can,  every  thing  but  fires  and  lights," 
replied  her  mother.  "  Those  we  can  see  better 
in  the  night." 

"  Why  is  it  so,  mother? "  said  Lucy. 

"  Why,  the  light  of  the  sun  and  of  the  day  is 
so  bright  thrl  we  can't  see  the  light  of  the  fire." 


PH  LOSOPHY.  83 

"  I  don't  see  why  we  can't  see  both,  mother," 
said  Lucy. 

"  Why,  you  see,"  said  Robert,  "  it  dazzles  our 
eyes,  —  the  light  of  the  sun  does,  —  and  we  can't 
see  so  well." 

"I  am  sure  I  can  see  better  in  the  day  than  in 
the  night,"  said  Lucy. 

"  That's  a  mistake,"  said  her  mother. 

"  O  mother  !  "  said  Lucy. 

"  In  one  sense  you  can  ;  that  is,  you  can  see 
more  things,  because  there  is  so  much  more  light ; 
but  your  eye  is  not  so  sensitive." 

'  What  do  you  mean  by  sensitive  1 '  asked 
Lucy. 

"Why,  let  me  see,"  said  her  mother;  "how 
shall  I  explain  it  to  you  ? ' 

Here  she  hesitated,  and  appeared  to  be  thinking. 
Lucy  and  Robert  sat  still,  and  did  not  interrupt 
her.  As  for  Eben,  he  began  to  be  tired  of  this 
philosophical  discussion,  and  so  he  got  off  from 
the  log,  and  began  to  punch  a  stick  down  into  a 
nole  under  the  root  of  a  tree.  He  thought  that  it 
was  a  squirrel's  hole,  and  he  wanted  to  make  the 
squirrel  come  out. 

"  Suppose,"  said  Lucy's  mother,  after  a  mo- 
ment's pause,  "  that  I  had  a  small  box,  light  all 
around,  excepting  at  one  end,  where  there  was  a 


84      LUCY  AMONG  THE  MOUNTAINS. 

small  hole,  just  big  enough  to  look  through.  Then 
suppose  that  I  should  have  a  picture  pasted  against 
the  back  side  of  the  box  opposite  to  the  hole." 

"  We  couldn't  see  it,  mother,"  said  Lucy  ;  "  it 
would  be  all  dark." 

"  Yes,  that's  true,"  said  her  mother.  "  But  now 
suppose  I  should  make  another  hole  in  the  side  of 
the  box  to  let  in  a  little  light." 

"  How  could  you  make  it,  mother  ?  "  said  Lucy. 

"  O,  I  don't  know,  —  I  could  get  Royal  to  bore 
it  for  me  with  his  gimlet." 

"  That  wouldn't  be  big  enough,"  said  Luoy. 

"  Hasn't  he  got  a  big  one  ?  "  asked  her  mother. 

'  Yes,"  said  Lucy,  "he  has  got  one,  but  it 
does  not  make  a  good  hole ;  and  then  it  almost 
always  splits  the  wood.  I  think  it  would  spoil 
the  box  to  have  him  bore  a  hole  in  it  with  the 
large  one." 

"  O,"  said  her  mother,  "  it  won't  hurt  the  box  , 
it  is  nothing  but  an  imaginary  box." 

"  An  imaginary  box  ?  "  repeated  Lucy. 

"  Yes,"  said  her  molher ;  "  it  is  only  an  ima- 
ginary box,  and  it  won't  hurt  it  to  bore  an  ima 
ginary  hole  in  it." 

Lucy  laughed,  and  her  mother  went  on  with 
the  illustration 

"  Now,  suppose,"   said  she,  "  we  had  such  « 


PHILOSOPHY.  85 

box,  wiLi  a  picture  pasted  on  the  back  part,  in- 
side, and  a  small  hole  opposite  to  the  picture  to 
look  through.  Suppose  that  there  was  also  a  hols 
in  the  side  of  the  box,  to  let  in  a  little  light.  Now, 
suppose  that  you  were  to  bring  your  eye  up  sud- 
denly to  the  eye-hole,  in  the  daytime,  and  also  in 
the  night ;  in  which  case  do  you  think  that  you 
could  see  the  picture  most  distinctly  ? " 

"  I  don't  know,"  said  Lucy. 

"  In  the  night,"  said  Robert. 

"  Why  ?  "  asked  Lucy's  mother. 

"  Because,"  said  Robert,  "  I  can  always  see 
down  cellar  better  in  the  night  than  I  can  in  the 
Jaytime ;  and  that  is  something  like  it." 

"  But  I  can  see  down  cellar  better  in  the  day- 
time," said  Lucy. 

"  That  is  because  our  cellar  is  lighted  with 
windows,"  said  her  mother.  "  But  yours,  Robert, 
is  dark,  I  suppose." 

"  Yes,  ma'am,"  said  Robert ;  "  I  never  heard  of 
windows  in  a  cellar." 

"  They  sometimes  have  windows  in  a  cellar," 
said  Lucy's  mother,  in  reply.  "  But  where  there 
are  no  windows,  and  you  have  to  take  a  light 
down,  it  is  much  more  difficult  to  see  in  the  day- 
time than  in  the  ni°;ht.  So  it  would  be  in  such  a 
box      If  you  were  tc  come  up  to  it  suddenly  in  the 


S6      LUCY  AMONG  THE  MOUNTAINS 

daytime,  you  would  find  that  you  could  see  but 
very  little.  But  if  it  were  possible  for  you  to  come 
to  it  in  the  night,  and  look  in,  and  yet  have  daylight 
shine  in  through  the  hole  in  the  side,  just  as  be- 
fore, you  would  find  that  you  could  see  much 
better." 

"  I'm  sure  I  don't  see  why,"  said  Lucy. 

"  The  reason  is,"  said  her  mother,  "  that  a 
bright  light  changes  the  condition  of  the  eye  some 
how  or  other,  —  I  don't  know  exactly  how,  but  1 
know  it  changes  it,  —  so  that  it  is  not  so  sensitive  to 
light.  So,  after  we  have  been  walking  about  in 
the  bright  day,  if  we  go  down  cellar  with  a  candle, 
we  can't  see  very  well.  Our  eyes  have  been 
changed  in  some  way  by  the  great  light  of  the 
day,  so  that  we  can't  distinguish  the  objects  in 
the  cellar,  which  are  illuminated  only  by  the  dim 
light  of  the  candle." 

"  If  we  stay  down  some  time,"  said  Robert, 
"  then  we  can  see  better." 

"  Yes,"  said  Lucy's  mother,  "  because  then 
your  eyes  become  changed  again,  and  adapted  to 
the  faint  light.  They  become  more  sensitive,  and 
then,  of  course,  when  you  come  out  again  into  the 
bright  light  of  day,  they  are  too  sensitive,  and  you 
a~e  dazzled." 


PHILOSOPHY  8? 

"  Yes,  ma'am,"  said  Robert;  "that  is  exactly 
the  way." 

Lucy's  attention  was  here  taken  up  by  watch- 
ing Eben,  who  seemed  very  much  interested  in 
looking  into  the  hole  which  he  had  been  punching. 
He  was  trying  whether  he  could  see  the  squirrel 
there.  She  jumped  off  the  log,  and  went  to  the 
hole,  saying,  — 

"  Can  you  see  him,  Eben  ?  " 

"  Yes,"  said  Eben,  "  I  believe  I  can  see  him." 

"  Let  me  look,"  said  Lucy. 

Lucy  put  her  head  pretty  close  to  the  hole, 
and  looked  very  intently. 

"  Can  you  see  him  ? "  said  her  mother. 

"  I  don't  know,"  said  Lucy,  "  whether  I  can 
see  him  or  not." 

"  If  we  had  a  dark  closet  here,  where  we  could 
shut  you  up  a  few  minutes,  then  you  could  see 
better  down  in  the  hole,"  said  her  mother. 

"  Won't  it  do  for  me  to  shut  my  eyes  ?  "  said 
Lucy. 

"  I  don't  know,"  replied  her  mother,  "  whether 
that  will  produce  the  effect,  or  not.  I  don't  know 
what  it  is  that  causes  the  eye  to  change,  —  whether 
t  is  the  mere  absence  of  light,  or  the  effort  we 
make  to  see  when  looking  in  the  dark.  If  it 
were  the    uere  ?br,ence  of  light,  then    it    would 


88  LUCY    AMjjNG    THE    MOUNTAINS. 


answer  for  you  to  shut  your  eyes.  You  .  ac 
try  it." 

The  children  all  tried  the  plan.  They  shut 
their  eyes,  and  held  their  hands  over  them,  and  so 
kept  them  as  dark  as  they  could  for  some  minutes, 
and  then  looked  in.  They  thought  that  they 
could  see  better.  Robert  said  that  what  Eben 
saw  was  only  a  root,  and  that  he  did  not  believe 
that  there  was  any  squirrel  there. 

The  children,  therefore,  presently  came  back, 
and  took  their  seats  upon  the  log  again ;  and  Lu- 
cy asked  her  mother  to  go  on. 

"  I  think  it  likely  that  what  I  have  explained 
to  you  may  be  the  reason  why  a  fire  or  a  light 
does  not  appear  so  bright  by  day  as  it  does  by 
night.  The  eye  is  accustomed  to  the  glare,  and 
adapts  itself  to  a  strong  light,  and  so  becomes  in 
some  measure  insensible  to  a  comparatively  faint 
one. 

"  That  is  the  reason,  I  suppose."  she  contirued, 
"  why  we  can't  see  the  stars  in  the  daytime." 

"  Yes,  mother,"  said  Lucy ;  "  I  knew  there 
were  stars  in  the  daytime.     Miss  Anne  told  me." 

"  I  saw  a  star  one  morning,"  said  Robert. 

"  After  it  was  light  ?  "  asked  Lucy. 

"  Yes,"  replied  Robert ;  "  the  sun  was  alrnoc 


up." 


philosophy.  80 

"I  presume  it  was  the  morning  star,"  said 
Lucy's  mother. 

"  What  is  the  morning  star?  "  said  Lucy. 

"  Wiry,  }'ou  must  know,"  said  her  mother, 
"  that  there  is  one  planet  which  goes  round  and 
round  the  sun,  prett}'  near  to  him  —  a  great  deal 
nearer  than  we  are." 

"  What  is  a  planet,  mother?  "  said  Lucy. 

"Why,  it  is  a  kind  of  a  world,"  replied  her 
mother. 

"  As  big  as  this  world?" 

"  No  ;  the  planet  which  I  was  speaking  of  is 
not  quite  so  big  as  this  world,  I  believe  ;  but  it  is 
very  large.  It  goes  round  and  round  the  sun  ; 
and,  of  course,  when  the  sun  rises,  and  goes  over 
the  sky,  and  sets,  this  planet  keeps  with  him,  go- 
ing round  and  round  him  all  the  time." 

Here  Lucy  turned  her  face  up  to  the  sky,  and 
began  to  look  for  the  sun.  She  put  her  arm  over 
her  eyes,  to  shade  them  from  the  dazzling 
light. 

"  O,  you  can't  see  it  now,  Lucy,"  said  her 
mother. 

"  Why  not?  "  said  Lucy. 

"Because,"  said  Robert,  "  the  sun  will  dazzle 
your  eyes." 

"  And  besides,"  said  her  mother,  "the  general 

light  makes  3*0111'  eyes  less  sensitive  than  they 
8* 


90      LUCY  AMONG  THE  MOUNTAINS. 

ought  to  be  to  see  a  star.  We  never  see  this 
planet  by  day,  although  it  goes  with  the  sun, 
sometimes  a  little  before  him,  and  sometimes  a 
little  after  him,  but  never  a  great  way  off." 

"  What  maKes  it  sometimes  before  him  and 
sometimes  after  him  ? "  asked  Lucy. 

"  Why,  that's  of  course,"  said  Robert. 

"  No,  not  exactly  of  course,"  said  her  mother. 
"  It  might  revolve  around  the  sun  in  such  a  way 
as  always  to  appear  to  be  at  the  same  distance. 
But,  as  it  happens,  it  does  not.  It  goes  round  in 
such  a  way  that  sometimes  it  appears  before  the 
sun,  and  sometimes  behind  it,  and  sometimes  it  is 
directly  between  us  and  the  sun.  It  passes  for- 
ward between  us  and  the  sun  until  it  gets  before 
him ;  then  it  turns  and  wheels  away  around  on 
the  other  side,  and  goes  on  until  it  gets  behind  the 
sun.  Then  it  comes  round  on  this  side  again ; 
and  so  it  keeps  going  and  coming. 

"  But,  then,"  she  continued,  "  we  can  very  sel- 
dom see  it.  There  are  only  three  cases  in  which 
we  can  see  it.  One  is,  that  when  it  is  before  the 
sun,  we  can  see  it  in  the  morning  ;  because,  then, 
you  see,  it  rises  first,  and  so  we  can  see  it  before  it 
becomes  quite  light." 

"  But  Robert  said  it  was  very  light  when  be 
saw  it,"  said  Lucy. 


PHILOSOPHY.  91 

11  Yes,  it  was  much  lighter  than  it  had  been  . 
but  it  was  not  as  light  as  it  is  at  noon." 

"  No,"  said  Robert ;  "  I  only  meant  it  was 
Droad  daylight." 

"  It  was  much  lighter  than  it  was  in  the  night, 
I  have  no  doubt,"  said  Lucy's  mother ;  "  so 
light,  in  fact,  that  you  could  not  see  the  othei 
stars.  But  this  looks  brighter  than  any  othei 
stars." 

"  Why  ? "  asked  Lucy. 

"  One  reason  is,"  replied  her  mother,  "  because 
it  is  nearer  to  us ;  and  another  reason  is,  that  it  is 
very  near  the  sun,  and  so  is  strongly  illuminated 
by  his  rays." 

"  But  you  said  that  the  sun  was  not  up." 

"  No ;  but  still  he  was  where  he  could  shine 
on  Venus." 

"  Venus  ?  "  repeated  Lucy. 

"  Yes,"  replied  her  mother ;  "  that's  the  name 
of  it.  It  is  very  bright.  It  looks  like  a  little 
moon  when  you  look  at  it  through  a  telescope." 

"  Does  it  ? "  said  Lucy.  "  How  big  does  it 
look  ? " 

"  That  depends  upon  the  power  of  the  tele« 
scope,"  replied  her  mother. 

"  I  mean  to  get  up  to-morrow  morning,  and  see 
it,"  said  Lucy. 


92      LUCY  AMONG  THE  MOUNTAINS. 

"  You  said  there  were  three  ways  to  see  it," 
said  Robert. 

H  Yes,  mother,"  said  Lucy ;  "  what  are  the 
other  two?" 

"  Why,  sometimes,"  replied  her  mother,  "  Ve- 
nus falls  behind  the  sun,  and  then  you  can't  see  it 
in  the  morning ;  for  when  the  sun  rises,  Venus  is 
still  down  behind  the  horizon ;  and  then  it  does 
not  come  up  until  after  the  sun.  Consequently, 
by  the  time  it  gets  up,  the  whole  sky  is  lighted 
up,  and  our  eyes  are  much  less  sensitive,  and  so 
we  can't  see  it. 

"But  now,"  continued  she,  "if  we  wait  till 
evening,  the  sun,  which  sets  first,  will  be  in  ad- 
vance of  Venus,  and  leave  her  a  little  way  up 
in  the  sky.  To  be  sure,  Venus  follows  directly 
on,  and  sets  in  a  short  time  ;  but  then  it  generally 
gets  dark  enough  before  she  sets  to  make  our  eyes 
sensitive  enough  to  see  her.  When  Venus  is  in 
that  part  of  her  path  which  makes  her  set  after 
the  sun,  so  that  we  can  see  her  in  the  evening, 
we  call  her  the  evening  star.  When  she  is 
before  the  sun,  so  as  to  be  seen  in  the  morning, 
she  is  called  the  morning  star.  So,  you  see, 
Lucy,  it  will  not  do  any  good  to  get  up  early  in 
the  morning  to  look  for  Venus,  unless  we  know 
whether   she   is   now  before  or  behind  the  sun 


PHILOSOPHY.  93 

If  she  should  rise  later  than  the  sun,  we  could 
not  see  her." 

"  Now,  there's  one  more  way,"  said  Robert. 

"  Yes,  mother,"  said  Lucy  ;  "  what  is  that  ?  " 

"  Sometimes  it  happens,"  said  her  mother, 
"  that,  while  Venus,  after  having  been  behind  the 
sun,  is  passing  round  this  side  of  it  to  go  be- 
fore it,  that  it  goes  exactly  between  us  and  the 
sun,  and  so  we  can  see  it  pass  across  his  face." 

"  How  does  it  look  ? "  said  Lucy. 

"  It  looks  like  a  little  black  spot,"  said  her 
mother — "a  little,  round,  black  spot,  moving 
across    the    face    of  the    sun." 

"What  makes  it  Iook  so  black?"  said  Lucy. 

«  Why.  it  is  only  the  side  which  is  turned  to- 
wards the  sun  that  is  bright,  and  the  part  that  is 
turned  towards  us,  when  it  passes  between  us  and 
the  sun,  will,  of  course,  be  dark.  Besides,"  she 
continued,  "  I  suppose  that,  strictly  speaking,  we 
don't  really  see  Venus  in  that  case  at  all.  We 
are  only  prevented  from  seeing  a  part  of  the  sun. 
Venus  stops  all  the  rays  from  that  part  of  the  sun 
which  is  exactly  opposite  to  her,  from  coming  tc 
us  ;  and  it  causes  the  appearance  of  a  small,  round, 
dark  spot,  moving  along  over  the  face  of  the  sun. 
That  is  called  a  transit  of  Venus.  But  a  transU 
of  Venus  happens  very  seldom." 


94      LUCY  AMONG  THE  MOUNTAINS 

"  I  should  think  it  would  happen  every  time 
Venus  comes  round,"  said  Robert. 

"  So  should  I,"  said  Lucy. 

"  No,"  said  her  mother. 

"  Because,  you  see,"  said  Lucy,  "  that  she 
must  go  by   the  sun  every  time." 

"  Yes,"  said  her  mother  ;  "  that  is  tMe.  But 
then  sometimes  she  goes  above  the  sun,  and  some- 
times below  it.  It  is  very  seldom  that  she  goes 
across,  exactly  opposite  to  him  ;  and  it  is  only 
then  that  there  is  a  transit." 

"  I  don't  understand,"  said  Robert,  "  how  you 
can  see  that  little  black  spot  on  the  sun,  when  it 
does  go  across.  I  should  think  the  light  of  the 
rest  of  the  sun  would  dazzle  your  eyes." 

"  Hark  !   what's  that  ?  "  said  Lucy. 

Lucy  listened,  as  if  she  heard  a  sound  at  a 
distance. 

"  That's  the  horn,"  said  Eben. 

"  Yes,"  said  Robert,  "  the  horn  for  dinner. 
We  must  go  home.  But  first  I'll  go  and  put  my 
fire  together  a  little." 

The  fire  had  by  this  time  nearly  gone  down. 
It  had  burned  out  the  whole  middle  of  the  pile, 
leaving  a  circle  of  brands,  ends  of  sticks,  and 
tops  of  bushes,  all  around.  Robert  pushed 
them  in  to  the  centre,  where  they  lay  upon  the 


PHILOSOPHY.  05 

burning  embers,  and  soon  began  to  smoke  and 
blaze  again.  Then  he  followed  Lucy,  and  her 
mother,  and  Eben,  who  were  walking  slowly 
along.  When  he  came  up  to  them,  he  told  them 
that  he  knew  where  there  was  another  heap  of 
brush  to  burn,  and  he  wished  they  could  come  up 
in  the  evening,  and  set  it  on  fire,  when  they  could 
see  the  light  in  all  its  brightness.  This  they 
agreed  to  do.  Then  they  all  went  home  to  try 
the  apple-pudding. 


06 


CHAPTER    VII. 

THE  SLAB 

/  Hout  an  hour  after  dinner,  Lucy  and  Eben 

went  into  a  shed  not  far  from  the  barn,  where 
there  was  a  wagon  ;  and  Eben  proposed  that 
the}*  should  get  into  it,  and  plaj-  have  a  ride. 

"  How  can  we  get  in?  "  said  Lucy 

"  O,  we  can  climb  in,"  replied  Eben. 

Lucy  thought  that  she  could  not  climb  up  into 
such  a  high  wagon  ;  but  Eben  said  that  it  was 
very  easy.  So  he  went  around  to  the  front  part, 
and  clambered  in.  Lucy  then  concluded  to  try, 
and  she  found  that  she  succeeded  better  than  she 
had  expected.  She  sat  down  upon  the  seat  of 
the  wagon. 

"  What  a  good  seat ! "  said  Lucy.  "This  is 
better  than  a  chaise  ;  for  a  chaise  tips  down." 

"  Tips  down?"  said  Eben. 

-'  Yes,"  replied  Lucy,  "  when  there  is  no  horse 
in  it." 

"  What  makes  it  tip  down?"  said  Eben. 

"  I  don't  know,"  said  Lucj* ;  "but  it  does,  and 


THE    SLAB.  97 

I  can  hardly  Keep  in  the  seat.     But  your  wagon 
does  not  tip  down  at  all." 

Just  then  they  heard  somebody  coming.    The) 
boked  round,  and  saw  that  it  was  Robert. 

"Come,  boys  and  girls,"  said  Robert,  "jump 
out  of  the  wagon." 

"  Why  can't  you  let  us  ride  ?  "  said  Eben. 

"  Because,"  said  Robert,  "  I  am  going  to  put 
the  horse  in." 

"  Are  you  going  away  ?  "  said  Eben. 

"  No,  but  Comfort  is." 

"  Where  is  she  going  ? "  asked  Lucy. 

"  I  don't  know,"  replied  Robert ;  and  just 
as  he  said  so,  he  opened  a  door  which  led 
out  of  the  shed  into  the  barn,  and  disappeared, 
in  a  few  minutes  he  returned,  leading  out  a 
horse. 

He  tied  the  horse  to  a  ring,  which  was  fastened 
nto  a  beam  about  as  high  as  his  head,  and  then 
went  into  the  harness-room  after  a  harness. 

While  he  was  putting  the  harness  upon  the 
norse,  Lucy  and  Eben  continued  their  ride ;  and 
presently  he  told  them  that  they  might  stay  in 
the  wagon,  and  he  would  give  them  a  real  ride  as 
far  as  the  door.  Accordingly,  when  the  horse 
was  harnessed,  he  backed  the  wagon  out  of  the 
«hed,  while  Lucy  and  Eben  sat  in  it;  and  thon 


98       LUCY  AMONG  THE  MOUNTAINS. 

ne  Jed  the  horse  up  to  the  door,  Lucy  holding  the 
reins,  and  making  believe  drive. 

Robert  fastened  the  horse  to  a  post,  and  Lucy 
and  Eben,  thinking  that  they  would  not  get  out 
until  they  were  obliged  to,  sat  still.  Presently 
Comfort  came  to  the  door  in  a  different  dress 
from  the  one  which  she  had  worn  when  she  was 
spinning,  and  with  her  bonnet  on. 

"  Comfort,"  said  Lucy,  "  are  you  going  away 
in  this  wagon  ?  " 

"  Yes,"  replied  Comfort. 

"  Who  is  going  to  drive  you  ?  "  asked  Lucy. 

"  I  am  going  to  drive  myself,"  replied  Com- 
fort. 

"  Where  are  you  going  ?  "  said  L~^. , 

"  I'm  going  a-shopping,"  said  Comiori. 

"  A-shopping  ? '  said  Lucy  ;  "  I  don't  3o<? 
wnere  you  can  go  a-shopping.  Only  I  wish," 
she  added,  after  pausing  a  moment,  "  that  m\ 
mother  would  let  me  go  with  you." 

"  Well,"  said  Comfort,  "  go  and  ask  her." 

Comfort  helped  Lucy  down  out  of  the  wagon 
and  she  ran  in  to  ask  her  mother.     As  she  went 
m,  Comfort  said,  — 

"  Tell  her  that  I  should  like  to  have  you  go 
very  much." 

Lucy   came   back  in  a  moment,  leading    net 


THE    SLAB.  99 

mother,  who  came  out  to  see  whethei  it  was 
really  true  that  Comfort  was  perfectly  willing  tc 
have  Lucy  go.  When  she  found  that  she  was 
willing,  her  mother  consented.  At  first  Eben 
wanted  to  go,  too  ;  but  Robert  persuaded  him  to 
go  with  him.  He  was  going  0ff  into  the  field 
with  a  cart,  and  he  said,  if  Eben  would  go  with 
him,  he  w7ould  let  him  ride  in  the  cart.  Eben,  on 
the  whole,  concluded  that  he  would  ride  in  the 
cart ;  and  so  he  got  out  of  the  wagon,  and  went 
away ;  and  in  a  moment  after,  Comfort  and  Lucy 
went  riding  out  of  the  yard  together. 

Comfort  turned  the  horse  in  the  opposite  direc- 
tion to  the  one  from  which  Lucy  had  come  wiui 
her  father  and  mother  when  they  first  came  to 
the  General's.  Lucy  was  glad  of  this,  for  she 
wanted  to  go  in  a  new  road.  After  riding  a 
«hort  distance  along  a  smooth  and  level  road, 
they  began  to  descend  a  hill  which  seemed  to 
be  carrying  them  down  into  a  dark  and  shady 
valley. 

The  high  mountains  were  all  around  them ; 
and  now  and  then  Lucy  had  a  view  of  water 
down  the  valley  far  before  them.  Lucy  thought, 
too,  that  she  could  hear  the  noise  of  water  tum- 
bling over  rocks  down  in  a  deep  and  dark  ravine, 
filled  with  forests,  on  the  side  of  the  roa  J. 


100  LUCY    AMONG    THE    MOUNTAINS. 

"  How  far  is  the  place  where  you  are  going  i 
shopping  from  your  father's  ?  "  said  Lucy. 

"  It  is  about  half  a  mile,"  replied  Comfort. 

"  O,  what  a  short  ride !  "  said  Lucy.  "  I'm 
sorry  it  isn't  farther." 

"  O,  it's  farther  from  here,"  said  Comfort.  "  It 
is  almost  two  miles  from  the  General's." 

"  But  I  thought  the  General's  was  your  fa- 
ther's," said  Lucy. 

"  No,"  replied  Comfort ;  "  my  father  lives  down 
in  the  valley,  about  half  a  mile  from  the  corner." 

"  Then  why  don't  you  stay  there  ?  "  said  Lu- 
cy. "  I  should  think  you  would  stay  at  home, 
and  not  come  and  live  at  the  General's." 

"  O,  I  come  to  the  General's  to  spin,"  replied 
Comfort. 

"  I  don't  see  why  you  come  to  spin  for  him." 

"  Why,  he  pays  me  for  it,"  said  Comfort. 

"  O,"  said  Lucy,  "  then  I  suppose  you  spin  to 
get  the  money." 

"  Yes,"  replied  Comfort ;  "  that  is  it." 

"  Is  your  father  very  poor,  then?"  said  Lucy. 

"  No,  he  is  not  poor  at  all.  My  father  has  got 
a  good  farm,  and  is  quite  forehanded." 

"  Forehanded  ?  "  repeated  Lucy. 

"  Yes,"  replied  Comfort. 

Lucy  did  not  understand  what  Comfort  meant 


THE    SLAB.  101 

by  forehanded;  nor  did  she  see  why  Comfort 
should  go  away  from  home,  to  live  at  the  Gener- 
al's, to  get  money,  unless  her  father  was  poor. 
However,  she  was  prevented  from  asking  her  any 
more  questions  by  something  which  here  happened 
to  attract  her  attention. 

For  just  at  this  time  the  road  descended  near 
to  the  stream  which  Lucy  had  heard  in  the  bot- 
tom of  the  ravine ;  and  there  was  a  large  opening 
through  the  trees,  so  that  she  could  see  down  to 
the  water.  It  was  foaming  and  tumbling  like  a 
cataract,  along  a  very  rocky  bed.  The  stream 
was  pretty  broad,  and  there  were  several  rocks 
and  rocky  islands  scattered  about  its  bed.  On 
one  of  these  islands,  at  a  little  distance  from  the 
shore,  they  saw  a  little  boy  sitting  alone ;  and  he 
seemed  to  be  crying. 

"  Only  look  at  that  boy,"  said  Comfort.  "  I 
wcnder  how  he  came  there." 

So  saying,  Comfort  drew  up  the  reins,  and 
stopped  the  horse,  in  the  middle  of  the  road. 
The  boy  looked  up  and  saw  them. 

"What's  the  matter,  my  boy?"  said  Comfort, 
in  a  loud  voice. 

The  boy  answered  something,  but  the  roar  01 
the  water  was  so  loud  that  they  could  not  neat 
what  he  said. 


102  LUCY    AMONG    THE    MOUNTAINS. 

"  Let's  oro  down  and  see  what's  the  matter.^ 
said  Comfort. 

"  Well/'"  said  Lucy,  "  so  we  will." 

Comfort  got  out  of  the  wagon,  and  then  she 
helped  Lucy  get  out.  She  led  the  horse  to  one 
side  of  the  road,  and  fastened  him.  Then  she  be- 
gan carefully  to  descend  the  bank,  helping  Lucy 
down,  too.  At  length  they  got  down  to  the  shore, 
opposite  to  where  the  boy  was.  He  was  on  the 
end  of  a  little  rocky  island,  or  rather  of  a  large 
rock,  which  was  out  a  few  steps  from  the  shore. 
There  were  scattered  rocks  about  it,  and  between 
it  and  the  shore. 

"  What's  the  matter,  my  boy  ? "  said  Com 
fort. 

"  I  can't  get  off  the  rocks,"  said  the  boy. 

The  boy  did  not  take  any  further  notice  of 
Comfort  and  Lucy,  than  just  to  answer  Comfort's 
question,  but  sat  still,  and  continued  to  cry,  just 
as  before. 

"  How  did  you  get  on  the  rocks  ? "  said 
Comfort. 

"  I  don't  know."  said  the  boy  ;  "  I  have  forgot 
the  place." 

"  Why,  that's  very  strange,"  said  Comfort, 
• —  "  such  a  little  boy  as  this,  out  on  these  rocks 
and  saying  he  don't  know  how  he  came  there." 


THE    SLAB.  103 

"  He  isn't  bigger  than  Eben,"  said  Lucy. 
The  water  was   very  shallow  .n   the  3t.ee m, 
and  there  were  stones  between  where  the   boy 
was,  and  the  shore,  almost  near  enough  for  step 
ping-stones.     Comfort  looked  at  them  a  moment, 
and  then  she  said, — 

"  Can't  you  step  over  on  these  stones  ?  " 
"  No,"  said  the  boy,  "  not  unless  they   come 
uid  help  me." 

"  Who  come  and  help  you  ?  " 
"  Why,  Roger  and  the  other  boy." 
"  Who  is  Roger  ? "  said  Comfort,  "  and  where 
she?" 

"  I  don't  know  where  he  is,"  said  the  boy. 
"  He  does  not  know  any  thing,"  said  Comfort 
to  Lucy,  in  an  under  tone.  In  fact,  Comfort  was 
almost  out  of  patience  with  the  boy,  because  he 
could  not  give  any  better  account  of  himself; 
though  she  ought  not  to  have  been  out  of  pa 
tience  with  him,  for  he  was  very  small,  and  then 
he  was  very  much  frightened,  both  at  his  situation 
and  on  account  of  the  strangers. 

"  Do  you  suppose,  Lucy,  that  I  could  gel  over 
on  those  stones,  and  help  him  off?" 

"  Why,  yes,"  said  Lucy,  "  perhaps  so." 

"  I'm  afraid  I  shall  fall  into  the  water,1'  said 


L04  LUCY    AMONG    THE    MOUNTAINS. 

Comfort.  "  Now,  if  I  only  had  a  slab."  So  say- 
ing, Comfort  began  to  look  around  on  the  shore. 

"  A  slab  ?  "  said  Lucy  ;  "  what  is  a  slab  ?  " 

Lucy  had,  in  fact,  never  heard  of  a  slab.  Com- 
fort did  not  answer  her,  for  she  went  immediately 
away,  and  began  to  look  about  for  a  slab,  Lucy 
remaining  near  the  boy. 

A  slab  is  the  outside  piece,  which  is  sawed  off 
first,  when  they  saw  up  a  log  into  boards.  Of 
course,  it  is  round  on  one  side,  and  flat  on  the 
other.  Sometimes,  too,  it  is  very  irregular  in 
shape,  on  account  of  the  logs  not  being  regular  in 
form.  Slabs  generally  lie  in  considerable  num- 
bers rlfout  mills,  because  they  are  not  of  much 
value ;  and  then,  when  the  freshets  come,  they 
get  washed  away,  and  carried  down  the  stream. 
M'duy  of  them  lodge  along  the  banks,  where  they 
get  j'opped  by  the  trees,  or  wedged  in  among  the 
roc>.s;  so  that  they  are  often  found  lying  along 
th2  shores  of  such  a  stream  as  this  was. 

By  this  time,  the  boy  had  stopped  crying ;  and 
he  took  up  a  slender  little  pole,  which  was  lying 
by  his  side,  and  laid  it  across  his  lap.  Lucy 
ooked  at  him  a  moment  in  silence. 

"  What  is  your  name,  little  boy  ?  "  said  Lucj 

"  George,"  said  the  boy. 


THE    SuAB.  105 

"  Well,  don't  be  afraid,"  said  Lucy.  "  Com* 
fort  has  gone  to  get  a  slab." 

George  did  not  answer,  but  he  seemed  now  to 
oe  getting  quite  composed. 

"  What  is  that  pole  for  ? "  said  Lucy,  again. 

"  This  is  my  fishing-pole,"  said  the  boy. 

"  Did  you  come  a-fishing  ? "  said  Lucy. 

"  Yes,"  replied  the  boy ;  "  and  we  caught 
four." 

Just  at  this  moment,  Lucy  heard  Comfort  call- 
ing out  that  she  had  found  a  slab.  Lucy  looked 
in  the  direction  from  which  the  voice  came,  and 
she  saw  Comfort  beyond  a  rocky  point,  a  short 
distance  up  the  stream. 

"  I've  found  a  slab,"  said  Comfort ;  "  but  it  is 
too  heavy  for  me  to  bring  along,  and  so  I'm  going 
to  sail  it  down." 

Lucy  could  see  that  Comfort  was  stooping 
down,  as  if  she  was  pushing  something  off  the 
shore.  At  the  same  instant,  she  heard  other 
voices  in  the  opposite  direction.  She  looked 
down  the  stream,  and  saw  two  boys  coming  up 
along  the  bank,  half  hid  by  the  bushes  and  rocks, 
with  fishing-poles  in  their  hands.  They  were 
talking  together,  and  did  not  see  Lucy  until  they 
got  out  of  the  bushes,  and  had  advanced  pretty 
near  to  her.     At  the  same  time.  Comfort  came 


106  LUCY    AMONG    THE    MOUNTAINS. 

down  from  above,  guiding  her  slab  along  by  a 
little  slender  pole. 

"  O  boys !  "  said  Comfort,  when  she  saw  them, 
"  is  this  little  fellow  your  brother  ?  " 

"  Yes,"  said  one  of  the  boys,  "  he  is  my 
brother." 

"  We  couldn't  think  how  he  came  here,"  said 
Comfort. 

"  Why,  we  were  fishing,"  said  the  boy,  "  and 
we  wanted  to  go  down  and  just  try  a  new  place ; 
and  we  told  him  we'd  come  back  for  him  in  a 
few  minutes,  if  we  found  a  good  place." 

"  O,"  said  Comfort,  "  I  was  just  getting  this 
slab,  to  help  him  off.' 

"  What  did  you  want  the  slab  for  ? "  said 
the  boy. 

"  So  as  to  get  over  where  he  is,"  said  Comfort. 

"  O,  there's  no  need  of  any  slab,"  said  the 
Doy.  And  so,  without  saying  any  thing  more, 
he  stepped  across  from  one  stone  to  another,  as 
easily  as  if  he  had  walked  along  the  shore.  The 
other  boy  followed  him,  and  one  of  them  helped 
George  to  the  shore,  and  the  other  took  up  a 
small  string  of  fishes,  which  was  lying  in  a  crevict 
of  the  rocks,  where  Lucy  had  not  seen  them. 

"  You've  caught  some  fishes,  then,"  said  Com- 
fort. 


THE    SLAB.  107 

uYes,"  said  the  boy;  "but  they  don't  bite 
very  well." 

"  I  hope  they'll  bite  better  down  below,*'  said 
Comfort ;  "  and  I  wouldn't  leave  that  little  fellow 
alone  again  ;  it  frightens  him." 

"Well,  we  won't,"  said  Roger. 

So  saying,  the  boys  all  walked  along  together 
down  the  bank,  and  soon  disappeared. 

"  I  think  he  ought  to  be  ashamed  of  himself," 
said  Lucy.  4 '  I  would  have  given  him  a  good 
scolding." 

"  That  wouldn't  have  done  any  good,"  replied 
Comfort. 

"  Yes  it  would,"  said  Lucy.  "  It  would  have 
taught  him  not  to  do  so  next  time." 

u  No,"  said  Comfort ;  "that  would  only  have 
made  him  more  likely  to  do  so  again." 

"  Let's  make  a  bridge  with  your  slab,"  said 
Lucy,  "  and  get  out  on  that  rock." 

"  No,"  said  Comfort ;  "we  might  get  in,  and 
get  our  feet  wet." 

"  Why,  Comfort ! "  said  Lucy ;  "  I  don't  see  that 
there  is  any  more  danger  of  getting  in  now,  than 
if  the  boy  was  on  the  rock,  and  you  were  going 
out  to  get  the  bo}\" 

"  Yes,"  said  Comfort ;  "  but  that  was  an  object 
worth  running  a  little  risk  for.     There's  no  use 


108  LUCY   AMONG   THE   MOUNTAINS. 

in  running  the  risk  for  nothing ;  so,  instead  of 
making  a  bridge  of  the  slab,  we'll  make  a  ship 
of  it." 

As  she  said  this,  she  pushed  one  end  of  the 
slab  outwards, to  make  it  point  out  into  the  stream. 
It  turnod  slowly,  and,  when  it  was  pointed  in  the 
right  direction,  she  gave  it  a  long  push,  b}T  which 
it  was  sent,  by  a  slow  but  steady  motion,  away 
out  into  the  current.  The  current  immediateh' 
turned  it  down  the  stream.  It  went  swiftVy  along 
the  rapids,  until  presently  the  end  struck  against 
a  small  rock,  which* happened  to  be  in  its  course, 
projecting  a  little  above  the  surface  of  the  water. 
This  stopped  the  force  of  the  motion  immediately, 
and  the  upper  end  of  the  slab  began  to  move 
slowl}T  round,  and  to  drift  sideways  down  the 
stream.  They  watched  it  a  few  minutes,  and 
then  the}-  climbed  up  the  steep,  grassy,  and  rocky 
bank,  unfastened  the  horse,  got  into  the  wagon, 
and  rode  on. 


109 


CHAPTER    VIII. 

SHOPPING. 

At  the  place  where  Comfort  and  Lucy  had 
found  George  on  the  island,  the  stream  looked 
like  a  brook,  only  it  was  very  large  for  a  brook. 
It  ran  tumbling  along  among  rocks  just  like  a 
brook.  Luc3T  found,  however,  after  they  had 
rode  along  a  little  farther,  that  it  began  to  change  ; 
and  in  a  short  time  it  appeared  to  turn  into  a 
smooth  and  beautiful  river.  This  was  the  sheet 
of  water  which  Luc}*  had  had  an  occasional 
glimpse  of,  higher  up  the  valley.  But  now,  at  a 
certain  turn  of  the  road,  they  came  suddenly  upon 
a  full  view  of  it. 

"  O,  what  a  beautiful  river  !  "  said  Lucy. 

"  That's  the  mill-pond,"  said  Comfort. 

"  The  mill-pond?"  repeated  Lucy. 

"Yes,"  replied  Comfort. 

"How  did  the}'  make  such  a  mill-pond?" 
asked  Lucy. 

"  Whv,  thev  built  a  dam  across  the  stream, 
10 


110     LUGF  AMONG  THE  MOUNTAINS. 

down  below  here,  and  that  stops  the  water,  anu 
makes  a  pond." 

"  That's  an  excellent  plan,"  said  Lucy.  "  I 
think  it  looks  a  great  deal  prettier." 

"  O,  but  they  didn't  do  it  to  make  it  look  pret- 
tier," said  Comfort. 

"What  did  they  do  it  for?  "  asked  Lucy. 

"  Why,  to  make  the  mills  go.  They  almost 
always  have  a  pond  to  make  mills  go." 

"  I  don't  see  how  a  pond  can  make  mills  go." 
said  Lucy. 

"  Why,  the  dam  makes  the  water  rise  very 
high,"  said  Comfort ;  "  and  then  they  build  a 
mill  on  the  bank  just  below  the  dam,  and  have 
a  great  wheel  down  in  the  bottom  of  the  mill, 
and  they  let  the  water  out  of  the  pond  against  the 
wheel,  and  that  carries  it  round  so  as  to  make  the 
mill  go." 

"  Do  they  have  a  hole  in  the  dam  right  oppo- 
site to  the  wheel  ?  "  asked  Lucy. 

"  Yes,  they  have  an  opening,"  replied  Comfort, 
"  and  a  kind  of  a  long  box,  to  lead  the  water 
from  the  opening  in  the  dam  to  the  wheel.  That 
is  what  they  call  the  flume.  I'll  show  you  the 
flume  when  we  get  to  the  mill." 

"  Ace  we  going  to  the  mill  ? '    asked  Luc  v. 


CHOPPING.  Ill 

u  Y  es,  we  shall  go  over  the  bridge  close  to  the 
mill.  The  flume  passes  under  one  end  of  the 
bridge." 

Comfort  and  Lucy  were  now  riding  along  a 
beautiful  road.  The  mill-pond  was  on  one  side, 
with  several  islands  in  the  middle,  and  with  many 
points  and  promontories  extending  into  the  water 
from  the  shore,  and  crowned  with  trees.  On  the 
other  side  was  a  great  forest,  covering  the  side  of 
a  hill,  and  running  higher  and  higher  to  the  tops 
of  the  mountains.  On  before  them  Lucy  could 
see  a  bridge,  and  a  small  village  on  the  other 
side  of  it.  In  about  ten  minutes,  they  reached 
the  bridge. 

Lucy  could  see  the  dam  very  distinctly.  It 
was  built  of  logs  laid  up  like  a  wall,  and  extend- 
ing entirely  across  the  stream,  from  one  side  to 
the  other.  A  thin  sheet  of  water  was  gliding 
smoothly  over  the  top,  and  falling  upon  the  rocks 
below. 

"  Why  don't  they  build  the  dam  a  little  higher," 
said  Lucy,  *'  and  so  stop  all  the  water  ? ' 

"  That  wouldn't  do  any  good,"  said  Com- 
fo.t. 

"  Yes,"  said  Lucy  ;  "  then  they  would  have 
more  water  to  make  their  mills  go." 

"  But  they've  got  water  enough,"  said  Com- 


i  12  LUCY    AMOiNu    THE    MOUNTAINS. 

fort;  "  and,  besides,  if  they  should  make  the  dam 
higher,  they  could  not  keep  the  water  from  run 
ning  over  the  top ;  because,  if  they  should  do  its 
it  would  only  stop  the  water  in  the  pond  for  a 
little  while ;  it  would  rise  higher  and  higher,  and 
so,  pretty  soon,  it  would  run  over  the  top  again, 
just  as  it  does  now." 

The  mill  was  on  the  farther  side  of  the  bridge, 
and  below  it,  while  the  dam  was  above.  Lucy 
asked  where  the  flume  was.  Comfort  pointed 
out  to  her  a  sort  of  a  large  box  or  trough,  made 
of  timbers  and  planks,  which  proceeded  from  the 
end  of  the  darn  on  the  other  side,  and  passed  un 
der  the  bridge  to  the  mill. 

When  they  got  opposite  to  the  flume,  Comfort 
stopped  the  horse  a  moment  to  let  Lucy  look 
at  it.  There  was  a  kind  of  a  grating  at  one  end 
of  it,  towards  the  mill,  and  the  water  was  whirling 
and  boilinor  among;  the  sticks  and  slabs  which 
were  lying  before  the  grating.  Lucy  saw  that 
the  water  was  running  down  through  the  grating, 
in  underneath  the  mill,  and  she  supposed  it  ran 
under  the  water-wheel,  and  turned  it  round. 

"  What  makes  them  throw  all  those  sticks  and 
slabs  into  the  flume  ?  "  said  Lucy. 

"  They  don't  throw  them  in,"  said  Comfort. 
"  Those  things  were  brought  down  by  the  stream 


(t 
it 


SHOPPING.  113 

and  came  floating  along  into  the  flume,  and  the 
grating  stopped  them.  That  is  the  reason  why 
they  have  a  grating,  —  in  order  to  stop  all  such 
things." 

Why  must  they  stop  them  ? "  said  Lucy. 
Because,"  replied  Comfort,  "  they  would  go 
through,  and  strike  against  the  water-wheel,  I  sup- 
pose, and  break  it." 

After   Lucy    had    looked    at   the   flume    long 
enough,  Comfort  drove  on.     The  horse  ascended 
a  little  hill,  beyond  the  brook,  and  came  into  a 
sort  of  village,  though  it  was  very  small.     It  con 
sisted  of  only  a  very  few  houses  and  shops. 

"  Where  are  you  going  to  do  your  shopping?  " 
asked  Lucy. 

"  I'm  iioinor  to  that  store  "  said  Comfort. 

So  saying,  she  pointed  to  a  building  in  a  corner, 
not  far  from  the  mill,  which  was  painted  green. 
It  had  a  sign  over  the  door,  and  some  shawls 
nankin o<-  in  the  window. 

o      o 

"  I  shouldn't  think  there  was  much  to  buy  ir 
tnat  store,"  said  Lucy. 

"  O,  yes,"  said  Comfort  ;  "  it  is  quite  a  large 
store." 

There  were  several  posts  before  the  store. 
Comfort  drove  up  to  one  o  them,  and  got  out 
10* 


114  LUCY    AMONG    THE    MOUNTAINS. 

ind  fastened  the  horse.     Then  she  helped  Luct 
out,  and  they  both  together  went  into  the  store. 

It  was  a  much  larger  and  pleasanter  store  than 
Lucy  had  expected.  There  were  two  pretty 
large  counters.  One  was  at  the  back  side  of  the 
store.  There  were  a  great  many  goods,  of  all 
kinds,  upon  the  shelves.  At  the  back  corner  of 
the  store  there  was  a  door,  which  seemed  to  open 
out  into  a  pleasant  yard.  There  were  one  or 
two  chairs  near  this  door.  Comfort  conducted 
Lucy  along  to  this  corner,  and  gave  her  a  seat  in 
one  of  the  chairs. 

"  Now,  Lucy,"  said  she,  "  1  expect  it  will  take 
me  ever  so  long  to  do  my  shopping  ;  and  you  may 
amuse  yourself  here  as  well  as  you  can.  You 
can  look  about  the  store,  or  sit  here,  or  go  out  in 
the  yard." 

"  Well,"  said  Lucy,  "  I  shall  do  very  well,  I 
don't  doubt." 

Comfort  then  went  away,  and  presently  came 
oack  with  a  piece  of  gingerbread,  which  she  had 
nought  of  the  storekeeper,  and  gave  it  to  Lucy. 
Lucy  was  glad,  both  because  she  liked  ginger- 
oread,  and  also  because  she  was  a  little  hunsrv 
After  she  had  be^un  to  eat  her  gingerbread,  she 

O  DO' 

tnought  she  heard  a   peeping  sound   out  in  the 


SHOPPING  115 


yard.  Lucy  stepped  out  upon  the  step  to  see 
what  it  was.  She  found  there,  in  one  comer  of 
the  yard,  a  hen  and  a  whole  brood  of  chickens. 

The  hen  looked  rather  fiercely  at  Lucy  when 
she  saw  that  she  was  coming:  near  her  chickens, 
and  so  Lucy  kept  back  a  little.  She  observed, 
however,  that  the  hen  had  a  little  leather  sJrap 
around  one  of  her  legs,  and  by  means  of  that  aiid 
a  string,  she  was  tied  to  a  stake.  There  was  a 
small  cask  lying  down  upon  its  side,  for  her  to  go 
into,  with  her  chickens. 

Lucy  broke  off  a  small  piece  of  her  ginger- 
bread, and  threw  it  down  to  the  hen.  The  hen 
seized  it  very  eagerly,  and  broke  it  into  crumbs 
with  her  bill,  and  called  her  chickens  to  come 
and  eat  it.  They  all  gathered  around  her,  and 
picked  up  the  little  crumbs  as  fast  as  they  could. 
Lucy  thought  that  they  ate  it  as  if  they  nevei 
had  had  any  gingerbread  before. 

Lucy  looked  about  the  yard.  It  was  a  very 
pleasant  yard,  descending  a  little  from  the  street. 
There  was  a  fence  around  it  painted  white ;  but 
as  the  fence  was  not  very  high,  and  as  the  land 
descended  somewhat  towards  it,  Lucy  could  see 
over  it.  She  couid  see  the  dam,  and  the  bridge, 
and  the  mill-pond,  extending  far  away  among  the 
jslands  and  banks  covered  with  trees.     She  could 


116  LUCY     AMONG    THE    MOUNTAINS. 

also  look  right  down  the  bank  opposite  to  where 
she  stood  upon  that  part  of  the  stream  which  was 
below  the  mill. 

She  watched  the  water  gliding  over  the  top  of 
the  dam,  and  falling  down  in  a  shower  upon  the 
rocks  below,  for  a  few  minutes,  when  she  heard  a 
door  open  behind  her.  She  looked  round,  and 
found  that  there  was  another  door,  besides  the 
one  which  she  had  come  out  of,  in  the  same 
building.  There  were  also  some  windows.  In 
fact,  it  seemed  as  if  the  back  part  of  the  building 
was  a  house,  and  only  the  front  part  a  store. 

At  any  rate,  the  door  opened,  and  a  girl,  about 
as  big  as  Lucy,  came  out  with  a  saucer  in  her 
nand,  and  a  spoon  in  it.  Lucy  saw  at  once  that 
she  had  come  out  to  feed  the  ch'rkens.  Lucy 
went  towards  her,  to  see  her ;  for  before  she  had 
gone  to  the  front  part  of  the  yard  to  see  the 
prospect. 

('  Are  these  your  chickens  ? "  said  Lucy. 

"  Yes,"  said  the  girl. 

"  They're  beautiful  chickens,"  said  Lucy. 

"  Yes,"  said  the  girl,  "  only  they  came  tou 
late." 

While  Lucy  was  considering  what  the  girl 
could  mean,  by  saying  that  her  chicken?  came  too 
iate,  th  >  gill  went  on  feeding  them  ;  and  after  she 


SHOPPING.  117 

nad  done,  she  looked  down  to  the  stream  which 
ran  off  below  the  mill,  and  said,  — 

"  Ah  !  they've  shut  the  gate." 

"  What  gate  ?  "  said  Lucy,  looking ;  "  I  don't 
see  any  gate." 

"  The  water-gate,  I  mean,"  said  the  girl : 
—  "  the  gate  that  lets  the  water  under  the  mill." 

"  How  do  you  know  that  they've  shut  it  ? " 
said  Lucy. 

"  Because,"  replied  the  girl,  "  don't  you  see 
that  the  water  doesn't  run  under  the  mill  ? 
When  the  gate  is  up.  and  they  are  grinding,  the 
water  comes  tumbling  through,  under  the  mill,  in 
a  great  stream." 

Lucy  looked,  and  saw  that  there  was  a  channel 
behind  the  mill,  beginning  under  it,  which  passed 
down  a  little  way,  and  gradually  turned,  and  at 
length,  at  a  short  distance,  came  out  into  the 
main  stream.  The  bottom  was  rocky,  and  now 
nearly  bare,  only  there  was  a  small  stream,  which 
lan  among  the  rocks,  flowing  out  towards  the  main 
current.  There  is  generally  such  a  channel  below 
a  mill,  by  which  the  waste  water  is  discnarged, 
after  it  has  performed  its  duty  of  giving  impulse, 
in  its  descent,  to  the  float-boards  of  the  great 
wheel. 

At  the  place  where  this  channel  entered  th* 


118  LUCY     4.M0NG    THE    MOUNTAINS. 

main  stream,  Lucy  observed  a  large,  flat  surface 
of  rcrk,  of  a  blue  color,  which  seemed  to  be  quite 
level  and  smooth.  There  was  a  bird  upon  it, 
hoppng  about.  The  main  current  was  running 
very  swiftly  along  that  end  of  it  which  was  to- 
wards the  stream,  and  there  was  a  little  water,  too. 
on  each  side  of  it ;  so  that  it  was  a  sort  of  an 
island. 

"  I  wish  I  could  go  down  on  that  great  blue 
stone,"  said  Lucy. 

"  It  is  very  easy  to  get  there,"  said  the  girl. 
"•'  I've  been  on  it  a  hundred  times." 

"  I  mean  to  go  and  ask  Comfort  to  let  me  go 
down  and  get  on  it,"  said  Lucy. 

So  Lucy  went  into  the  store,  but  in  a  moment 
came  out  again.  The  girl  asked  what  Comfort 
said. 

"  She  says  I  must  not  go  now,"  said  Lucy, 
"  but  that,  when  she  has  done  her  shopping,  she 
will  go  with  me." 

"  Is  that  the  mill-pond  up  there  ? "  said  Lucy, 
pointing  to  the  sheet  of  water  above  the  dam 

"  Yes,"  said  the  girl. 

"  What  a  pretty  little  island !  "  said  Lucy. 

While  Lucy  was  looking  at  the  island,  she 
happened  to  observe  something  upon  the  water, 
rery  far  c  ff,  anc   she  did  not  know  what  it  was. 


SHOPPING.  1  19 

It  looked  like  a  little  black  line  arawn  upon  the 
water. 

"  What  is  that  ?  "  said  Lucy,  pointing  to  it. 

"  What  ?  "  said  the  girl ;  "  I  don't  see  an) 
thing." 

"  That  little  black  thing,  very  straight,  in  the 
water,  close  by  the  island,  where  that  great  tree  is." 

"  O,  I  don't  know,"  said  the  girl ;  "  nothing  but 
a  slab,  or  something  floating  down." 

Lucy  looked  at  it  very  intently,  and  said, — 

"  I  verily  believe  it  is  our  slab  !  " 

Lucy  ran  into  the  store  to  tell  Comfort.  Com- 
fort was  standing  before  the  counter,  looking  at 
some  calico.  The  counter  was  covered  with 
calicoes. 

"  Comfort,"  said  Lucy. 

"  That,  you  say,  is  one  and  ninepence,"  said 
Comfort,  speaking  to  the  storekeeper. 

"  Comfort,"  said  Lucy,  putting  her  hand  gently 
on  Comfort's  arm.  "  Here's  our  slab  floating 
down." 

"  And  nine  yards,  at  one  and  ninepence, 
comes  to  how  much  ?  —  let  me  see  —  " 

"  Comfort,"  said  Lucy. 

"  Let  me  see ;  nine  shillings  and  n.'ne  nine- 
pences  is  —  wait  a  minute,  Lucy." 

Lucy  stood    still.     The  storekeeper  drew  oul 


120  LUCY    AMONG    THE    MOUNTAINS. 

a  little  slate  from  under  the  counter,  and  began 
making  figures  upon  it.  Lucy  saw  that  Comfort 
looked  perplexed,  and  was  very  busy  ;  so  she 
ieft  her,  and  ran  out  into  the  yard  again,  to  watch 
the  slab. 

Lucy  thought  that  the  slab  had  not  moved  at 
all,  while  she  had  been  gone.  It  seemed  to  be 
n  exactly  the  place  where  it  was  before.  In  fact, 
it  did  not  move  very  fast,  because  the  water  in 
the  mill-pond  was  almost  still.  It  was,  however,, 
slowly  descending  towards  the  dam. 

"  Why  don't  it  come  faster  ?  "  said  Lucy. 

"  Why,  the  water  does  not  run  very  fast  in  the 
mill-pond,"  replied  the  girl ;  "  we  can  sail  all  over 
it  in  a  boat ;  so  that  the  logs  and  slabs  come  down 
slowly." 

"  Where  will  it  go  to  ? "  asked  Lucy. 

"  O,  it  will  come  down  over  the  dam  ;  or  else 
)t  will  run  into  the  flume,  and  get  stopped  by  the 
grating." 

"  I  mean  to  watch  it,"  said  Lucy,  "  and  see." 

"  Then  you  had  better  go  and  stand  on  the 
bridge,"  replied  the  girl.  "  You  can  see  it  better 
on  the  bridge." 

"  I  don't  think  Comfort  would  let  me,"  said 
Lucy. 

"  You  had  better  go  and  ask  her,"  said  the  girl 


SHOPPING.  121 

"  No,"  said  Lucy ;  "  it  don't  do  any  good  to 
ask  anybody  an}*  thing  when  the}*  are  a-shopping . 
They  are  alwaj's  talking  about  ninepence  and 
tenpence." 

The  girl  laughed,  and  then  went  into  the  house. 

Lucy  looked  at  the  slab  a  short  time,  and  then, 
as  it  did  not  move  much,  she  got  tired  of  watch- 
ing it ;  and  so  she  turned  to  look  at  the  chickens. 
She  gave  them  a  little  more  of  her  gingerbread, 
and  ate  the  rest.  Then  she  went  into  the  store, 
and  amused  herself  in  walking  about,  and  looking 
at  the  things  which  the  storekeeper  had  to 
sell. 

In  about  three  quarters  of  an  hour  from  the 
time  when  the}'  came  into  the  store,  Comfort  was 
ready  to  go.  She  had  completed  her  purchases, 
and  the  storekeeper  had  put  them  all  up  in  one 
great  parcel,  with  some  strong  and  coarse  brown 
paper  wrapped  around  it.  Comfort  put  her  par- 
cel into  the  wagon,  and  then  told  Luc}'  that  she 
was  ready  to  go. 

"  Yes,"  said  Lucy,  "  only  you  must  go  down 
with  me  to  the  great  blue  stone." 

"  Well,"  said  Comfort,  "  I  will.  You've  been 
very  patient,  and  have  n't  troubled  me  at  all." 

So  they  walked  along  together  towards  the 
bank  of  the  stream  below  the  mill. 
11 


122 


CHAPTER    IX. 

AN  ESCAPE. 

They  found  some  difficult}'  in  getting  down 
the  bank,  it  was  so  steep  and  rocky.  There  were, 
however,  little  trees  and  bushes  growing  here 
and  there,  which  they  could  take  hold  of;  and 
there  was  a  kind  of  a  path,  too,  which  was  of 
considerable  service.  The  channel  Iry  which  the 
water  came  out  from  under  the  mill  was  almost 
dry,  so  that  the}^  walked  about  all  over  it,  step- 
ping from  stone  to  stone.  The}'  went  up  very 
near  the  mill,  so  that  they  could  see  under  it. 
Lucy  saw  the  great  wheel,  but  it  was  still.  She 
said  she  wished  they  would  let  the  water  through 
again,  for  she  wanted  to  see  it  go. 

"  Why,  Lucy  !  "  said  Comfort ;  "  then  the  water 
would  come  pouring  down  where  we  stand.  And 
I  don't  think  that  we  ought  to  stay  here  much 
longer,  for  they  may  hoist  the  great  gate  suddenl}'. 
So  let  us  go  down  to  your  blue  stone." 

TUey  accordingly  walked  along  over  the  rocks, 
towards  the  blue  stone.     In  the  lower  part  of  the 


AN    ESCAPE.  123 

bed  of  the  channel,  the  stones  and  rocks  were 
wet  where  they  had  been  covered  with  water. 
The  higher  ones  were  dry,  showing  that  where 
the  water  came  through  under  the  mill,  they  were 
not  covered  by  it.  Comfort  told  Lucy  to  step 
along  on  the  dry  rocks,  for  the  wet  ones  were  apt 
to  be  slippery. 

At  length,  they  reached  the  great  blue  stone. 
Comfort  said  that  it  was  a  beautiful  place  to  stop 
and  see  the  water.  The  middle  part  of  the  rock 
was  dry  ;  but  it  was  wet  all  around  the  sides,  and 
there  was  a  little  water  still  standing  on  each  side, 
which  they  had  to  step  over,  in  getting  upon  the 
rock.  There  were  several  chips,  and  sticks,  and 
small  pieces  of  board  on  the  edges  of  the  rock. 
They  had  floated  on  when  the  water  was  high, 
and  had  been  left  there. 

Lucy  amused  herself  a  few  minutes  throwing 
these  pieces  of  wood  off  into  the  middle  of  the 
current,  and  seeing  them  float  away  down  the 
stream.  Comfort  took  up  a  long,  crooked  pole, 
and  pushed  off  some  which  were  lying  in  places 
out  of  Lucy's  reach.  After  a  little  while,  when 
Lucy  had  thrown  off  all  that  were  upon  the  front 
side  of  the  stone,  she  turned  and  went  to  the 
back  side,  to  find  some  more.  Comfort  happened 
to  be  standing,  at  that  moment,  on  the  front  side 


J24     LUCY  AMONG  THE  MOUNTAINS. 

of  the  stone,  reaching  out.  and  trying  to  push  off  a 
small  log  which  was  partly  floating,  and  partly 
lodged  upon  a  rock.  Just  as  she  succeeded  i«j 
pushing  off  the  log,  she  heard  Lucy  exclaim,  Li  a 
tone  of  surprise, — 

"  Why  !  why !  how  wide  the  water  is !  y 

Comfort  looked  round,  and  dropped  her  pole 
instantly,  and  said,  — 

"  So  it  is ;  the  water  is  rising.  The  mer.  have 
hoisted  the  gate.  We  must  get  off  this  rock  as 
quick  as  we  can." 

Comfort  and  Lucy  ran  all  around  the  rock, 
trying  to  find  a  place  to  get  off;  but  it  was  too 
late.  The  water,  on  each  side,  was  before  so 
wide  that  they  could  hardly  jump  over  it,  and  the 
surface  of  the  rocks  beyond,  which  formed  the 
bed  of  the  stream,  sloped  off  so  gradually,  tuat  a 
very  little  rise  in  the  water  made  it  considerably 
wider. 

"  What  shall  we  do  ?  "  said  Comfort ;  "  what 
shall  we  do  ?  "  As  she  said  this,  she  kept  going 
round  and  round  the  rock,  trying  to  find  some 
piace  where  it  would  do  to  jump  off;  but  she 
could  not.  Lucy  was  very  much  frightened,  and 
began  to  cry. 

" O,  Lucy,  don't  cry,"  said  Comfort.  "You 
needn't  be  afraid." 


AN    ESCAPE.  125 

"  O  dear  me  !  "  said  Lucy  ;  "  we  shall  cer- 
tainly be  drowned." 

"  O,  no  "  said  Comfort ;  "  there's  no  clanger  of 
being  drowned.  We  can  stay  on  this  rock,  safe, 
till  we  contrive  some  way  to  get  off." 

"  O,  no,"  said  Lucy  ;  "  the  water  keeps  rising 
more  and  more,  and  it  will  cover  us  all  up." 

"  No,"  said  Comfort ;  "  don't  you  see  that  the 
top  of  the  rock  is  dry  ;  and  that  proves  it  is  not 
covered  when  the  gate  is  up,  and  the  water  runs 
through  as  fast  as  it  will." 

Comfort  looked  at  the  water.  It  was  rising 
very  rapidly  ;  and  they  could  see  a  torrent  of  it 
come  pouring  down  upon  them  from  under  the 
mill,  which  threatened  to  raise  it  much  higher. 
Still  Comfort  was  not  afraid.  She  was  confident 
that  it  would  not  come  higher  than  to  cover  that 
part  of  the  rock  which  was  wet  before,  and  so 
that  they  were  safe  upon  the  dry  part.  And  the 
result  was  as  she  had  anticipated.  The  water 
continued  to  rise,  but  it  rose  more  and  more  slow- 
.y  ;  and  when  it  arrived  at  the  old  high  water 
mark,  —  that  is,  the  line  where  the  rock  had  been 
wet  before, —  it  continued  standing  at  that  level. 

*•'  There/'  said    Comfort,  "  it  won't    rise    any 


more  now." 


11 


126     LUCY  AMONG  THE  MOUNTAINS. 

Lucy  looked  very  anxious  and  unhappy.  She 
did  not  see  how  they  could  get  off. 

"  We  shall  have  to  stay  here  all  the  time," 
said  she,  in  a  very  sad  and  desponding  tone. 

"  No,"  said  Comfort ;  "  there's  one  way  we 
can  do,  I'm  sure.  I  can  call  out  to  the  people  in 
the  store,  and  they'll  come  and  help  us  off." 

"  1  don't  see  how  they  can  help  us  off,  if  they 
come,"  said  Lucy. 

"  O,  yes,"  replied  Comfort ;  "  they  can  go  and 
shut  the  gate,  if  they  can't  do  any  other  way." 

"  Then  that  will  stop  the  mill,"  said  Lucy  * 
"  and  1  don't  believe  they  will  be  willing  to  stop 
their  mill." 

"  Yes  they  will,"  said  Comfort,  "  I  know 
Mr.  Jameson,  that  owns  the  mill.  He'll  stop  it 
for  us,  I  know." 

"  Well,  then,"  said  Lucy,  "  why  don't  you  call 

them  ?  " 

"  Why,  I  want  to  look  around,  and  think  a 
little,  first,"  said  Comfort.  "  If  we  call  them, 
they'll  come  and  help  us,  I  know  ;  but  then  Mr. 
Jameson  will  laugh  at  me  well,  and  I  don't  want 
to  be  laughed  at." 

"  I  had  rather  be  laughed  at  than  be  drowned," 
said  Lucy. 


AN    ESCAPE.  127 

"  Yes,"  said  Comfort ;  "  but  we'll  see.  I  want 
to  look  around  and  think  a  little.  I've  heard 
them  say  that,  if  your  life  is  in  danger,  and  you 
liave  only  got  two  minutes  to  save  it,  you  must 
take  one  of  them  to  think  what  to  do." 

"  If  we  only  had  a  slab,"  said  Comfort,  look- 
ing around.  "  And  there  comes  one  now,  I  de- 
clare." 

Comfort  pointed  towards  the  dam.  Lucy 
looked,  and  behold,  a  slab  was  just  appearing 
over  the  edge  of  the  dam.  It  rubbed  along, 
stopped,  then  rubbed  along  again,  moving  very 
slowly,  ag  there  was  scarcely  water  enough  to 
bring  it  over.  At  length,  when  it  had  advanced 
so  far  that  the  projecting  end  was  heavier  than 
the  other,  it  fell  slowly  over,  and  came  down  with 
a  thump  upon  the  rocks  below\  Lucy  and  Com- 
fort saw  all  this,  for  they  were  standing  so  low, 
and  the  bridge  wTas  so  high,  that  the}'  could  see 
the  top  of  the  clam  under  it.  As  the  slab  fell 
down,  its  face  w*as  presented  directly  towards 
them  ;  and  Lucy  said,  — 

"It  is  our  very  old  slab,  I  truly  believe.  I 
saw  it  floating  down  in  the  mill-pond,  a  good 
while  ago." 

"  I  believe  it  is  the  very  same,"  said  Comfort 


128     LUCY  AMONG  THE  MOUNTAIN*. 

"  Now,  if  I  can  only  reach  it  with  this  pole  when 
it  comes  by  us." 

Comfort  took  up  the  pole  again,  and  they  both 
watched  the  slab,  as  it  came  swiftly  on  towards 
the  bridge.  It  struck  one  of  the  piers  of  the 
bridge,  and  then  the  upper  end  began  slowly  to 
move  round,  just  as  it  had  done  against  the  stone 
where  Comfort  and  Lucy  first  pushed  it  off. 

"  Yes,"  said  Comfort,  "  it  is  coming  round  this 
way." 

The  slab  moved  slowly,  until  it  got  into  the 
current  again,  and  then  it  was  swept  along  more 
swiftly  than  ever.  It  came  on  towards  the  side 
of  the  stream  where  Comfort  and  Lucy  were 
standing  on  the  rock ;  but  Comfort  was  afraid  that 
it  was  not  coming  quite  near  enough.  She 
reached  the  pole  out  as  far  as  she  could,  so  as  to 
have  it  all  ready,  saying,  — 

"  Now,  Lucy,  don't  speak  a  word." 

She  just  succeeded  in  resting  the  end  of  the 
pole  upon  the  forward  end  of  the  slab. 

"  There,"  said  Lucy  ;  "  now  pull." 

But  Comfort  knew  better  than  to  pull.  It 
would  orly  have  pulled  her  pole  off,  and  let  the 
slab  go  down  the  stream  irrecoverably.  She 
therefore  only  drew  in  the  pole  very  gently,  but 


AN    ESCAPE.  131 

following,  at  the  same  time,  the  natural  motion  01 
the  slab  down  the  stream.  By  this  means,  she 
succeeded  in  bringing  the  slab  round  into  a  little 
sort  of  bay  of  still  water,  below  the  great  blue 
rock. 

"  There,"  said  Comfort ;  "  now  we'll  make  a 
bridge." 

Lucy  was  exceedingly  rejoiced  to  see  the  slab 
safe  under  their  control.  She  was  very  ready  to 
help  Comfort  place  it.  They  found  some  diffi- 
culty, however,  In  doing  this,  though  they  suc- 
ceeded at  last.  They  drew  the  slab  up  into  the 
channel  on  one  side  of  the  great  stone,  when? 
there  was  a  narrow  place,  and  then  they  pushed 
the  farther  end  of  it  up  a  little  way  upon  the 
opposite  shore.  Then  they  lifted  the  end  whicn 
was  towards  them,  and  put  it  upon  the  rock ; 
and  thus  they  had  a  bridge. 

"  Now,"  said  Comfort,  "  we  must  go  over 
carefully,  for  it  is  slippery.  However,  there  is  no 
danger ;  for  if  we  get  in,  it  is  not  very  deep,  and 
we  shall  only  get  pretty  well  wet." 

But  they  did  not  get  in.  Comfort  walked 
over  first  very  carefully,  leading  Lucy  by  the 
hand,  who  came  behind  her.  Lucy  jumped  and 
capered  about  upon   the  bank,  when   she  found 


l'>-  LUCY    AMONG   THE   MOUNTAINS. 

that  she  was  free,  and  they  both  went  up  the 
bank  as  fast  as  the}r  could  go. 

"  We  got  some  good  by  trying  to  help  George 
off,  didn't  we?"  said  Lucy,  when  they  were  get- 
ting into  the  wagon. 

"  Yes,"  said  Comfort. 

"  It's  very  lucky,  I  think,"  said  Lucy,  "  that 
we  went  to  get  the  slab  for  George." 

"  No,"  said  Comfort ;  "  it  was  unlucky,  accord- 
ing to  the  old  rule." 

"  What  is  the  old  rule  ? "  asked  Lucy. 

"Why,  that  it  is  unlucky  to  take  pay  for  do- 
ing a  kindness." 

As  they  drove  down  to  come  upon  the  bridge, 
Lucy  observed  a  young  man  coming  along  over 
the  bridge,  from  the  other  side.  Comfort  stopped 
talking,  and  did  not  say  anything  more  until  they 
had  passed  him.  He  smiled  when  he  met  them, 
and  bowed  to  Comfort.  Gomfort  nodded  to  him 
in  return. 

u  Who  was  that,  Comfort?  "  said  Lucy,  when 
the}'  got  by. 

fc<  That  is  Mr.  Jameson,"  said  Comfort.  "  I 
would  not  have  had  him  know  we  got  caught 
down  there  on  the  rocks  for  half  a  dollar." 


133 


CHAPTER    X. 

EFFECT. 

That  evening  Lucy  and  her  mother  set  out 
to  go  with  Robert  to  his  clearing,  to  build  a  fire 
for  the  purpose  of  seeing  how  it  would  look  in 
the  dark.  When  they  were  up  there  in  the  fore- 
noon, Lucy  had  asked  her  mother  to  go  up  some 
evening,  as  Robert  said  he  had  another  heap  which 
he  could  burn.  Lucy  wanted  very  much  to  see 
a  fire  in  the  night,  and,  in  fact,  her  mother  did, 
too.  They  asked  the  general  about  it  at  supper- 
time,  and  he  said  that  there  was  no  danger  then 
in  making  fires  ;  and  so,  a  little  after  sundown, 
Lucy  and  her  mother  set  forth,  Robert  and  Ebon 
coming  along  close  behind  them.  Luc}r  carried 
the  lantern,  and  Robert  his  axe. 

Luc}'  had  given  her  mother  an  account  of  her 
adventure  with  Comfort  on  the  great  stone  ;  and 
so  strong  had  been  the  impression  which  the  affair 
had  made  upon  her  mind,  that  she  had  several 
times  alluded  to  it  afterwards.  And  now,  as  thev 
were  walking  along,  her  mother  silently*  admiring 


134  LUCY    AMONG    THE    MOUNTAINS. 

the  beauty  of  the  evening,  Lucy's  thoughts  were 
away  down  by  the  mill,  —  her  imagination  being 
bus}',  reproducing  images  of  the  great  wheel,  the 
channel  below  the  mill,  the  wet  stones,  the  slab, 
and  the  current  of  water. 

At  last  she  said,  — 

"  Mother,  what  makes  it  unlucky  to  thank 
people  for  doing  a  kindness  ?  " 

"  I  didn't  know  that  it  was,"  replied  her  mother. 

"  Yes,  mother,"  said  Lucy  ;  "  Comfort  says 
it  is." 

"  It  seems  to  me,"  replied  her  mother,  "  that 
Comfort  is  a  great  authority  with  you  these  days." 

"  I  don't  know  what  3-011  mean,"  said  Lucy. 

"  Why, I  think  you  quote  Comfort  pretty  often." 

"  Quote  her?"  repeated  Lucy.  "  I  don't  know 
what  you  mean :  I  never  heard  of  quoting  any 
body." 

u  What  was  it  she  said  about  its  being  un- 
lucky ?  " 

"  Why,  she  said  it  was  unlucky  to  take  any 
pa}'  for  doing  a  kindness." 

"  People  have  a  great  many  sayings,"  replied 
her  mother,  "  about  what  is  lucky  and  unlucky  ; 
but  I  haven't  much  faith  in  such  notions  my- 
self." 

"  I  don't  see  what  they  say  so  for,  if  it  is  not 
true,"  said  Lucy. 


EFFECT. 


135 


64  Perhaps  tliey  think  it  is  true.  Some  people 
think  Friday  is  an  unlucky  da}T,  and  so  they  never 
will  begin  any  new  undertaking  on  Friday,  if  they 
can  help  it." 

"  Do  you  think  that  it  is  an  unluckj*  day, 
mother  ?  "  said  Lucy. 

"  No,  I  don't  think  it  is  more  unlucky  than 
any  other  da}*  in  the  week.  It  is  not  a  ver}"  good 
day  to  begin  any  new  undertaking,  such  as  a 
journey,  because  it  comes  so  near  the  end  of  the 
week." 

"  Is  that  the  reason  why  they  call  it  unlucky," 
said  Lucy,  "  do  3Tou  suppose?  " 

"  Perhaps  it  originated  in  that.  Such  notions 
have  generally  something  or  other  for  a  foun- 
dation. Though  I  have  heard  it  said  that  the 
reason  why  Friday  has  such  a  bad  reputation, 
is  because  it  was  the  day  of  the  crucifixion  of 
Christ." 

"Did  the}7  crucify  him  Friday?"  asked 
Lucy. 

"  Yes,"  replied  her  mother. 

"How  do  they  know?"  asked  Luc}T.  "It 
does  not  say  so  in  the  Bible.  At  least,  I  never 
read  anything  about  Fridaj*  in  the  Bible." 

"  No,"  replied  her  mother  :  "  the  account  does 
not  mention  that  particular  da}r ;  but  it  says  that 
he  was  crucified  the  da}T  before  the  Sabbath,  and 


136  LUCY    AMONG   THE    MOUNTAINS. 

that  he  rose  from  the  dead  the  day  after  the  Sab- 
bath." 

"  Then  that  would  be  Saturday', "  said  Lucy. 
"  The  day  before  the  Sabbath  is  Saturday." 

"  Yes,  the  da}7  before  our  Sabbath  is  Saturday-," 
replied  her  mother  ;  "but  the  Sabbath  in  the  days 
of  Christ  was  on  Saturday  itself;  so  that  the  day 
before  was  Friday.  Jesus  was  crucified  on  Fri- 
day, and  he  remained  in  the  tomb  over  Saturday, 
which  was  their  Sabbath,  and  rose  from  the  dead 
on  Sunday  morning.  So  they  changed  the  Sab- 
bath from  Saturday  to  Sunday,  in  order  to  have 
it  on  the  same  day  that  he  rose." 

' '  Then  that's  the  reason  why  they  call  Friday 
an  unlucky  day  ?  "  asked  Lucy. 

"  No,"  replied  her  mother  ;  "  I  did  not  say  that 
that  was  certainly  the  reason  ;  only  I  have  heard 
it  said  that  that  might  be  the  reason.  There  was 
a  time,  a  great  man}7  years  ago,  when  people  paid 
a  great  deal  more  attention  to  particular  days  than 
they  do  now,  and  celebrated  a  great  many  ;  and 
perhaps,  in  those  times,  the}'  considered  Friday, 
being  the  day  in  which  such  a  sad  event  hap- 
pened, an  unfortunate  or  unlucky  day." 

"  Well,  mother,"  said  Lucy,  after  a  short  pause, 
"  but  I  don't  see,  after  all,  why  Comfort  said  it 
was   unlucky   to   take    pay    for   doing    a   kind 


ness." 


EFFECT.  137 


a 


Perhaps  it  would  tend  to  make  a  person  act 
afterwards  from  mercenary  motives,"  said  her 
mother. 

"  What  does  that  mean? "  said  Lucy. 

"  Why,  suppose,"  said  her  mother,  "  that  every 
time  3'ou  performed  an}T  act  of  kindness  for  me 
or  3-our  father,  I  should  pa}'  3-011  for  it.  Then, 
after  a  while,  when  3'ou  did  any  such  thing  for 
us,  perhaps  it  would  be  for  the  sake  of  the 
pay." 

"  O,  no,  I  shouldn't,"  said  Lucy. 

u  Well,  suppose,  then,  that  Eben  is  the  person. 
Suppose  that  you  had  a  great  many  sugar-plums, 
and  eveiy  time  he  helped  3'ou,  or  did  3-ou  any 
kindness,  3'ou  should  give  him  some  of  them. 
Don't  you  suppose  that  in  a  short  time,  instead 
of  helping  3'ou  out  of  feelings  of  kindness  to  you, 
he  would  do  it  for  the  sake  of  getting  the  sugar- 
plums ?  " 

c<t  Wiry,  3'es,"  said  Luc3\ 

"  His  motive,  that  is,  the  thoughts  that  would 
lead  him  to  do  anything  for  you,  would  be,  not 
honest  kindness  of  heart,  but  a  hope  of  pa3T." 

"•Yes,"  said  Luc  v. 

"  Now,  when  an3T  person  is  led  b\~  hope  of  pay 

to  do  what  he  ought  to  do  for  other  motives,  they 

sa}-  he  is  mercenary." 

"  What  does  mercenary  mean?"  said  Lucy. 
19* 


138  LUCY    AMONG    THE    MOUNTAINS. 

"Why.  that's  what  it  rreans,"  said  her  mother. 
"  I've  just  explained  it  tc  you.  It  is  seeking  for 
pay  where  we  ought  not  to.  Once  there  was  a 
lady  who  was  sick,  and  a  boy  named  Jerry,  who 
lived  pretty  near,  came  to  the  door,  and  asked  how 
she  did,  and  wanced  to  know  if  he  could  do  any 
thing  for  her.  Now,  I  suppose  you  would  think 
that  that  was  a  very  kind,  generous  boy." 

"  Yes,  mother,  I  should  think  so,"  said  Lucy. 

"  He  would  have  been  so  if  his  motive  had 
been  as  good  as  it  appeared  to  be.  But  the  fact 
was,  his  motive  was  mercenary.  He  had  heard 
another  boy  say,  that  his  mother  sent  him  to  ask 
if  he  could  do  any  thing  for  the  lady,  one  day 
when  she  was  sick,  and  that  she  thanked  him,  and 
gave  him  a  cake.  So  Jerry  thought  that,  if  he 
went,  perhaps  he  should  get  a  cake  too." 

"  O,"  said  Lucy,  "  what  a  boy  !  " 

"  The  spirit  which  he  was  acting  under  was 
not  a  benevolent,  but  a  mercenary  one." 

"  Yes,"  said  Lucy,  "  I  thought  he  really  wanted 
to  know  what  he  could  do  for  the  sick  lady." 

"  That  was  the  appearance,"  replied  her  mother, 
"  but  it  was  a  false  appearance.  In  fact,  appear- 
ances, in  such  cases,  are  often  deceptive.  Some- 
times, for  instance,  children  go  and  wish  people 
a  merry  Christmas,  or  a  happy  new  year,  when 


EFFECT.  139 

their  motive  is,  not  any  real  kind  feeling,  but  a 
hope  of  getting  a  present." 

Lucy  did  not  say  any  thing  in  reply  to  this. 
She  was  silent  a  moment.  She  was  thinking 
whether  she  had  not  been  influenced  by  mer- 
cenary motives,  sometimes,  in  wishing  people  a 
happy  new  year. 

"  Now,  it  is  very  evident,"  continued  her  moth- 
er, "  that  when  a  person  takes  pay  for  doing  any 
little  act  of  kindness,  that  it  may  tend  to  make 
them  expect  pay  in  future  cases.  Now,  you  hap- 
pened, in  this  case,  to  do  George  a  favor.  The 
consequence  was,  that,  after  a  time,  the  benefit  of 
what  you  did  came  back  to  yourselves.  This  is 
very  apt  to  be  the  case  with  acts  of  kindness ; 
and  perhaps  it  is  right  to  tell  children  so,  and 
let  it  influence  them  in  some  degree  ;  but  still,  the 
real  reason,  after  all,  which  ought  to  influence  us 
in  doing  kindness  to  others,  is  simply  the  good  it 
will  do  them,  and  not  the  hope  of  having  good 
come  out  of  it,  somehow  or  other,  or  some  time  01 
other,  to  us." 

"  Well,  mother,"  said  Lucy,  "  I'm  sure  that, 
when  we  were  getting  the  slab,  to  help  George  off, 
we  didn't  think  of  ever  getting  helped  off  by  il 
ourselves." 

"  No,  I  presume  not,"  said  her  mother      "  Bui 


140     LUCY  AMONG  THE  MOUNTAINS. 

is  it  not  time  for  us  to  get  to  Robert's  clearing  I 
Robert,  how  much  farther  is  it?  "  said  she,  turn- 
ing round  to  speak  to  Robert. 

Robert  said  it  was  not  much  farther;  and  Lucy, 
who  turned  round,  too,  to  hear  his  answer,  observed 
that  the  light  of  the  lantern  flashed  upon  the  trees 
on  each  side  of  the  road  very  beautifully. 

"  How  bright  the  light  shines,"  said  Lucy, 
"  now  it  is  evening  !  " 

"  Yes,"  said  her  mother,  "  and  if  the  fire  is  as 
bright  in  proportion,  we  shall  have  a  splendic 
illumination." 

"  O,  there's  our  old  fire,"  said  Lucy. 

She  pointed  to  the  spot  where  they  had  made 
their  fire  in  the  morning.  It  had  burned  nearly 
out.  There  was,  however,  one  little  flame  coming 
up  from  it.  The  party  all  gathered  around  it 
to  see. 

"  It's  the  old  stump,"  said  Robert. 

In  fact,  Robert  had  thrown  upon  the  fire,  when 
he  went  away  in  the  morning,  a  large,  old  stump, 
half  decayed,  and  this  had  been  slowly  burning 
all  the  afternoon.  It  was  now  nearly  burnt  out 
but  a  piece  of  the  root  was  blazing  up  a  little, 
Robert  went  up  to  it,  and  took  hold  of  the  part 
which  was  not  on  fire,  and  then  walked  ofTwith 
the  burning  brand  in  his  hand.     He  led  the  waj 


EFFECT.  141 

0  the  other  part  of  his  clearing,  where  he  haa 
another  heap,  and  put  the  brand  in  under  it.  He 
then  took  the  lantern,  and  went  into  the  woods 
near  by,  to  find  some  dry  wood  to  help  set  the 
fire  to  burning.  He  came  back  soon,  and,  in  a 
few  minutes,  the  whole  party,  standing  in  a  ring 
around,  were  illuminated  by  a  bright  blaze.  A 
broad  column  of  smoke  and  sparks  ascended 
mto  the  dark  sky,  and  the  bright  flashes  of  light 
gleamed  upon  the  trees  around  in  a  very  splendid 
manner. 

"  Isn't  it  a  good  bright  fire  ? "  said  Lucy. 

"  Yes,"  said  her  mother ;  "  I  want  to  walk 
about  a  little,  to  see  the  effect  on  the  trees  from 
different  positions." 

"The  effect,  mother?"  repeated  Lucy. 

"  Yes ;  come  with  me,  and  I'll  show  you  what 

1  mean  by  effect." 

So  Lucy  took  hold  of  her  mother's  hand,  and 
they  walked  along  back  to  the  road.  They  went 
up  to  the  top  of  a  little  green  bank  very  near  th& 
road,  and  then  turned  around  to  look  at  the  fire. 
It  was  partly  hid  by  a  little  group  of  small  trees 
which  intervened ;  that  is,  which  came  between. 
The  fire  seemed  to  be  in  the  middle  of  these  trees. 
The  leaves  and  branches  were  brightly  illuminated, 
and  in  the  midst  of  them  they  could  see  the  flame 


142  LUCY    AMONG    THE    MOUNTAINS 

itself  glittering  through  the  little  openings  in  the 
foliage.  There  was  a  great  column  of  sparks,  too, 
ascending  above  the  trees  and  smoke,  illuminated 
by  the  fire  below.  The  sparks  were  produced  by 
Robert  and  Eben,  who  remained  at  the  fire, 
punching  it  with  long  poles. 

"  You  see  what  a  beautiful  appearance  the  fire 
has  here,"  said  Lucy's  mother.  "  Now,  we  will 
go  to  some  other  place,  where  it  will  present  a  dif- 
ferent picture,  or,  as  people  commonly  express  it, 
where  it  will  have  a  different  effect," 

So  they  descended  the  bank  again  into  the 
road,  and  walked  along  in  it  a  little  way  into  a 
very  bright  place,  where  the  light  from  the  fire 
shone  broadly  across  the  road.  When  they  had 
got  into  the  middle  of  this  bright  place,  they 
stopped,  and  turned  towards  the  fire.  Every  thing 
in  the  appearance  of  it  was  changed.  The  great 
glowing  flame  was  full  before  them.  There  was 
a  sort  of  circle  of  trees,  around  the  border  of 
Robert's  clearing,  which  shone  magnificently ; 
and  some  rocks  across  the  brook,  half  under  the 
trees,  seemed  to  be  edged  with  fire.  They  could 
see  Robert,  and  Eben  too.  Robert  was  behind 
the  fire,  with  his  face  towards  them.  One  arm 
was  extended  to  push  his  pole  into  the  fire,  and 
the  other  was  held  up  over  his  face  to  shade  it 


EFFECT.  143 

from  the  heat.  He  looked  up  to  Lucy,  and  smiled ; 
and  Lucy  was  surprised  to  observe  how  distinctly 
she  could  see  the  expression  of  his  countenance 
and  the  movement  of  his  eyes,  so  bright  was  the 
illumination.  Eben  stood  on  one  side  banging 
the  fire  with  repeated  strokes  of  his  long  pole,  to 
make  the  sparks  fly. 

"What's  that  threat  thing  over  beyond  the 
brook,  mother?"  said  Lucy. 

Lucy  pointed  to  something  at  some  distance 
across  ihe  brook,  and  beyond  some  large,  scattered 
trees. 

"  I  don't  know,"  said  her  mother ;  "  it  looks 
like  a  great  heap  of  logs  and  stumps.  Let  us  go 
and  ask  Robert." 

Robert  told  them  that  it  was  his  father's  great 
heap  of  logs  and  stumps,  that  he  had  got  out  of 
a  swamp. 

"  Let's  go  and  set  it  on  fire,"  said  Lucy. 

"  Will  it  do  to  set  it  on  fire  ? "  asked  her 
mother,  speaking  to  Robert. 

"  It  won't  burn,"  said  Robert;  "  it  has  not  been 
piled  up  long  enough." 

"  O.  we  can  make  it  burn,"  said  Lucy. 

"  Well,"  said  Robert,  "  we  can  try." 

"  Are  you  sure  your  father  will  be  willing  te 
have  you  sel  it  on  fire  ? "  said  Lucy's  mother 


144 


-UCY    AMONG    THE    MOUNTAINS. 


"  O,  yes,  ma'am,"  said  Robert,  "  I  know  he 
will ;  he  wants  it  burned." 

Robert  pulled  out  a  large  brand  from  the  fire, 
and  gave  it  to  Eben  to  carry. 

"  Give  me  one,  too,"  said  Lucy. 

"  And  me,"  said  her  mother. 

Robert  got  brands  for  the^n  all,  and  they 
marched  along  in  a  fiery  procession  towards  the 
great  heap.  They  put  the  brands  all  together  in  a 
hole  under  the  heap,  and  then  went  back  for 
more.  In  this  way  they  soon  got  quite  a  little 
fire  burning  under  the  great  heap ;  but  still  Rob- 
ert said  that  he  did  not  believe  the  heap  itself 
would  burn.  He  said  that  the  logs  and  stumps 
were  very  wet  when  they  were  taken  out  of  the 
swamp,  and  that  they  he.d  not  had  time  to  dry. 
The  children,  however,  worked  upon  it  some  time, 
and  then  left  it,  and  went  to  the  other  fire ;  and 
after  a  while  they  returned  to  the  great  heap 
again.  But  they  found,  as  Robert  had  predicted, 
it  did  not  appear  to  brrn  very  well.  There  was 
a  great  smoke  coming  up  out  of  the  middle  of  it, 
but  they  could  not  decide  whether  it  was  going 
to  burn,  or  whether  it  was  going  out.  They 
pushed  under  some  more  dry  wood,  and  then 
waited  some  time  longer.  But,  at  length,  Lucy's 
mother  said  that  it  was  time  to  go  home,  and  they 


EFFECT.  145 

must  give  up  the  great  heap,  and  try  it  some  othei 
time. 

Lucy  was  unwilling  to  leave  it,  and  wanted  to 
go  and  get  some  more  dry  wood ;  but  it  was  hard 
work  to  get  it,  for  the  heap  was  in  the  middle  ot 
the  swampy  part  of  the  ground,  from  where  the 
materials  had  been  taken,  and  so  they  had  to 
bring  the  dry  wood  from  some  little  distance,  out 
of  the  woods  on  the  higher  land  around  them. 
The  ground  on  which  the  heap  stood  was  not, 
however,  wet  and  swampy  then.  It  was  dry  and 
hard ;  for  Robert's  father  had  dug  a  drain  leading 
right  through  the  middle  of  it  down  to  the  brook. 

They  were,  accordingly,  obliged  to  leave  the 
great  heap,  though  they  resolved  to  come  up  in 
the  daytime,  when  they  could  get  dry  wood; 
and  then,  as  Robert  said,  they  would  keep  crowd- 
ing dry  logs  under  till  they  made  it  burn 


146 


CHAPTER    XI. 
THE   GAP  AMONG  THE   MOUNTAINS. 

The  next  morning,  when  Lucy  got  up,  the  first 
thing  she  did,  was  to  go  to  the  window  and  look 
out.  Her  mother  was  sittino;  at  the  table,  writing 
a  letter. 

'*  O  dear  me  !  "  said  Lucy  ;  "  now  if  the  clouds 
haven't  all  gone  away  !  " 

"  The  clouds  ?  "  repeated  her  mother  ;  "  what 
clouds  ?  " 

"  Why,  last  evening,"  replied  Lucy,  in  a  de- 
sponding tone,  "  there  were  some  clouds,  and  a 
circle  round  the  moon,  and  Robert  said  that  it 
was  going  to  rain.  And  now  they  have  all  gone 
away,  and  it  is  going  to  be  pleasant." 

"  Well,"  said  her  mother,  "  and  don't  you 
want  it  to  be  pleasant  ?  " 

"  No,"  said  Lucy  ;  "  I  want  it  to  rain." 

"  Why,  Lucy,"  said  her  mother,  with  surprise, 
u  what  do  you  want  it  to  rain  for  ?  " 

"  Why,  to  make  a  freshet  on  the  brook,  to  bnng 


THE  GAP  AMONG  THE  MOUNTAINS.    14* 

jown  the  logs.     And  besides,  I  want  my  garden 
to  be  watered." 

"  Your  garden  ! "  repeated  her  mother.  '  1 
did  not  know  you  had  any  garden." 

"  Yes,"  said  Lucy  ;  "  Ellen  gave  me  one,  a~'J 
my  flowers  are  all  dying,  because  it  does  not  rain 
on  them." 

It  was  true  that  Lucy  had  a  little  garden.  It 
was  a  small  place  in  Ellen's  garden,  where  Ellen 
had  planted  six  hills  of  corn.  She  had  broken 
off  all  the  ears  of  corn  which  had  grown  there,  to 
roast,  and  so  the  stalks  which  were  left  were  not 
good  for  any  thing.  Ellen,  accordingly,  pulled 
them  up,  and  gave  them  to  the  cow :  and  she  told 
Lucy  that  she  might  have  the  place  for  her  gar- 
den. So  Lucy  had  hoed  it  over,  and  raked  it, 
and  put  flowers  in  it,  which  she  and  Eben  gath- 
ered from  a  field.  She  had  been  out  the  after- 
noon before,  to  see  her  garden,  and  the  flowers 
were  wilted.  The  reason  was,  that  they  had 
no  root ;  but  Lucy  thought  that  it  was  becauso 
they  had  not  been  watered  by  rain. 

As  the  sun  rose,  it  became  more  and  more  evi- 
dent that  she  was  to  be  disappointed  in  her 
wishes  for  rain.  Never  was  there  a  finer  prosper! 
for  a  beautiful  day.     So  pleasant  was  the  morning 


148     LUCY  AMONG  THE  MOUNTAINS. 

in  fact,  that,  at  breakfast,  the  General  proposed 
that  Lucy's  mother  should  go  and  take  a  ride, 
and  see  the  country  around  them. 

"  You  and  Lucy  might  take  the  wagon  ana 
Hero,"  said  he,  "  and  have  a  good  ride  before 
dinner." 

"  Yes,"  said  Comfort ;  "  they  might  go  up 
through  the  Gap,  and  so  round  by  Emery's  Pond." 

"  O,  I  wouldn't  go  there,"  said  the  General's 
wife.  "  It's  all  rocks  and  mountains  on  that  road. 
I  think  she  had  better  go  down  to  the  corner,  and 
out  on  the  Greenville  road.  There  are  beautiful 
farms  that  way." 

"  Well,  mother,"  said  Lucy,  "let's  go." 

"  I  don't  know  as  I  should  be  able  to  manage 
Hero,"  said  her  mother.  "  I'm  not  much  ac- 
customed to  driving." 

"  No  difficulty  about  that,"  said  the  General. 
u  Hero  is  a  good  traveller,  but  you  can  manage 
him  as  easily  as  you  could  a  dog,  with  reins  or 
without  reins.  Or  you  may  take  Robert ;  he'll 
drive  you,"  continued  the  General,  after  a  mo- 
ment's pause.  "  Robert,  couldn't  you  /g  up  a 
seat  for  yourself  in  the  forward  part  of  the 
wagon  ? " 

Robert  said  he  could,  without  any  difficulty 


THE  uAP  AMONG  THE  MOUNTAINS.    149 

and  finally,  after  some  further  discussion,  the  plan 
was  agreed  upon.  Robert  harnessed  Hero,  and  he 
put  a  box  in  the  wagon,  in  front,  for  himself  to 
sit  upon.  They  concluded  to  go  around  through 
the  Gap ;  for  both  Lucy  and  her  mother  wanted 
to  see  the  rocks  and  the  mountains,  rather  than 
smooth  farms.  Just  as  they  were  going  to  set  off 
from  the  door,  the  General's  wife  brought  out  a 
tin  pail  with  a  cover  upon  it,  and  put  it  into  the 
wagon. 

"  What  is  that  ?  "  asked  Lucy. 

u  Something  for  you  to  eat,"  said  she,  "  so  that, 
if  you  like  your  ride,  you  can  stop  and  have  a 
little  luncheon  some  whe»e,  and  so  not  come  back 
until  the  middle  of  the  afternoon." 

When  they  drove  out  of  the  yard,  Robert 
turned  the  horse  in  the  direction  which  led  to  the 
fording-place,  where  Lucy  and  her  father  and 
mother  had  crossed  the  stream. 

"  Why,  this  is  the  way  we  came  !  "  said  Lucy. 

"  Yes,"  said  her  mother.  "  You  won't  have 
to  cross  the  ford,  shall  you  ? "  said  she  to  Robert. 

'  No,  ma'am,"  said  Robert ;  "  we  are  going  to 
turn  off  pretty  soon." 

Accordingly,  after  they  had  gone  on  until  they 
had  passed  by  the  smooth  fields  of  the  General's 
farm,  they  came  to  a  ro?d  which  turned  off  to- 


150     LUCY  AMONG  THE  MOUNTAINS. 

wards  the  mountains.  As  they  were  turning  intn 
this  road,  Lucy  >aw  a  beautiful  blue  flower,  grow- 
ing under  some  rocks. 

"  O  mother !  "  said  she,  "  see  what  a  beautifu 
blue  flower ! " 

"  Yes,"  said  her  mother ;  "  I  should  like  to  get 
it.  We  will  stop  and  get  it  when  we  come  back. 
It  would  wilt  and  fade  away  before  we  get  home, 
if  we  take  it  now." 

"  But  we  shall  not  come  back  this  way,"  said 
Robert,  at  the  same  time  stopping  Hero.  "  So  I 
had  better  get  it  now." 

Robert  jumped  out,  and  brought  the  flower,  and 
handed  it  to  Lucy.  Then  he  climbed  up  into 
his  seat  again,  and  drove  on. 

"  Which  way  shall  we  come  home  ? '  asked 
Lucy. 

"  Why,  we  are  going  round  by  Emery's  Pond, 
and  we  shall  come  out  by  the  Valley  district,  and 
so  home  by  the  road  that  leads  by  my  clearing." 

"  Where  is  the  Gap  that  your  father  spoke  of? ': 
asked  Lucy's  mother. 

"  O,  it's  on  here  a  few  miles  among  the  moun- 
tains," replied  Robert.  "  This  road  leads  through 
the  Gap.  Father  says  it  would  not  be  possible  to 
make  a  road  here  if  it  were  not  for  this  Gap." 

The  country  grew  more  and  more  wild,  as  they 
advanced.  The  road  was  very  winding,  and  it 
ascended  and  descended  by  turns.  They  were, 
br-vever,  on  the  whole,  gradually  rising,  as  they 
found  by  observation,  every  now  and  then,  that  they 
had  a  more  and  more  extended  view  of  the  greal 


THE    GAP     AMONG    THE    MOUNTAINS.        15  i 

valley  behind  the  n,  at  the  top  of  each  succeeding 
ascent  to  which  t)  ey  attained.  It  was  only  occa 
sionally  that  they  had  such  views,  for  generally 
they  were  entirely  shut  in  by  hills,  forests,  and 
precipices.  Before  them  they  saw  nothing  but 
vast  piles  of  mountains,  rising  higher  and  higher, 
and  covered  with  trees  nearly  to  the  summits. 
Lucy  did  not  see  how  they  could  possibly  get 
through  them  or  over  them.  In  fact  the  Gap, 
through  which  they  were  to  pass,  was  not  to  be 
seen  by  the  traveller  until  he  had  entered  it. 

Once,  as  they  were  coming  down  a  little  hill, 
where  the  road  took  a  sudden  turn,  they  heard 
the  voice  of  a  man  echoing  among  the  forests 
before  them. 

"  What's  that  ?  "  said  Lucy.  In  fact,  Lucy 
was  a  little  afraid ;  and  it  must  be  confessed 
that  the  aspect  of  the  whole  scene  was  rather 
wild  and  gloomy. 

"  That's  somebody  driving  a  team,"  said 
Robert. 

"  How  shall  we  get  by  ?  "  said  Lucy's  mother 
"  It  seemi  to  me  the  road  is  very  narrow." 

"  O,  we  can  find  a  place  to  get  by,"  said  Robert. 

Just  then,  the  turn  of  the  road,  as  they  came 
down  the  hill,  brought  a  bridge  into  view,  —  a 
small  bridge,  but  very  high,  leading  across  a  brook. 
They  had  passed  several  similar  bridges  before, 
only  this  was  higher  than  the  others,  and  looked 
more  uneven.  There  were  large  logs  laid  along 
the  edge,  on  each  side  of  it,  for  a  balustrade 


162     LUC?  AMONG  THE  MOUNTAINS. 

"Why,  there's  a  hole  in  the  bridge,"  said 
Lucy's  mother. 

"  Yes,  ma'am,"  said  Robert ;  "  there  are  two  or 
three.  But  it's  no  matter.  Hero  will  look  out 
for  the  holes." 

Hero  took  them  over  the  bridge  very  carefully, 
stepping  with  much  deliberation  over  each  hole, 
or  else,  where  there  was  room,  going  entirely  on 
one  side  of  it.  Just  as  they  had  crossed  the 
bridge,  they  saw  the  two  heads  of  a  yoke  of  oxen 
and  a  man  driving  them,  coming  into  view,  from 
a  turn  in  the  road,  at  the  top  of  a  little  ascent 
beyond.  A  large  pair  of  cart  wheels  followed 
the  oxen.  Under  the  axletree  of  the  wheels  was 
nne  end  of  a  great  log,  held  up  to  the  axletree  by 
chains.  As  the  team  came  on,  Lucy  could  see 
that  the  other  end  of  the  log  rested  upon  the 
ground,  and  was  dragged  along  by  the  oxen. 

"  Why,"  said  Lucy,  "  what  are  they  going  to 
do  with  that  great  log  ? ' 

Her  mother  looked  up  to  the  team  with  a 
countenance  of  great  anxiety,  for  it  seemed  to  be 
coming  directly  down  upon  them.  Her  fears 
were,  however,  in  a  moment  relieved  ;  for  the  man 
who  was  driving  the  oxen,  turned  them  out  to 
one  side  of  the  road,  so  as  to  make  room  for  the 
wagon  to  go  by.  One  of  the  great  wheels  went 
away  down  by  the  side  of  the  road,  so  that  Lucy 
exclaimed, — 

"  O  dear  me  1  the  log  will  get  tipped  over  ' 

The  teamster,  however,  did   not  seem  at  ai 


THE    GAP    A3iONG    THE    MOUNTAINS.        153 

concerned  about  his  log,  for  he  stood  leaning 
against  his  oxen,  and  looking  at  the  persons  in  the 
wagon,  with  an  expression  of  great  interest  and 
curiosity  upon  h's  countenance.  He  could  not 
think  who  it  was  that  was  coming.  He  at 
length  nodded  slightly  to  Robert,  just  as  he 
was  going  by.  He  recollected  that  he  had  seen 
him  somewhere. 

After  they  had  passed,  Lucy  said  to  Robert,  — 

"  What  is  he  going  to  do  with  that  great  log  ? ' 

"  Why,  that's  Mr.  Emery,"  said  Robert ;  "  he's 
getting  out  some  boards  to  cover  his  house." 

There  were  two  things  very  perplexing  to  Lucy 
in  this  answer.  One  was,  that  she  did  not  see 
any  thing  like  boards.  She  thought  Mr.  Emery 
was  getting  out  a  monstrous  great  log,  and  not 
boards.  And  the  other  was,  she  did  not  know 
what  Robert  meant  by  covering  his  house. 

"  Where  is  Mr.  Emery's  house,"  said  Lucy. 

"  O,  it's  up  this  way,  pretty  near  his  pond," 
said  Robert.    "  We  shall  come  to  it  pretty  soon.' 

"  Then  he's  going  the  wrong  way,"  said  Lu- 
cy.    "  He's  lost  his  way." 

"  No,"  said  Robert,  laughing ;  "  he's  hauling 
that  log  down  to  mill,  to  get  it  sawed  up  into 
boards." 

"  O,"  said  Lucy,  "  yes,  that's  the  way  he's 
going  to  get  his  boards." 

"  Yes,"  said  Robert,  "  that's  the  way  they 
always  get  boards." 

"  That  isn't  the  way  my  father  gets  boards/ 
said  Lucy 


154  LUC*"    AMONG    THE    MOUNTAINS. 

"  How  does  be  get  them,  then  ?  "  asked  Robert. 

"  Why,  he  buys  them." 

M  I  should  think  he  had  better  get  out  the  logs 
himself,"  said  Robert,  "  if  he's  got  any  growing 
on  his  land." 

"  My  father  hasn't  got  any  land,"  said  Lucy, 
"  only  just  his  garden." 

"  Only  his  garden  ?  "  said  Robert. 

"  No,"  said  Lucy,  —  "  and  the  yards  ;  nor 
any  oxen." 

"  Hasn't  your  father  got  any  oxen,  either  ?  " 
asked  Robert. 

"  No,"  said  Lucy. 

"  Well,"  said  Robert,  "  then  I  don't  know 
what  he  will  do.  My  father  says  it's  a  great  deal 
cheaper  to  get  out  the  boards  yourself,  than  it  is 
to  buy  them ;  but,  then,  you  must  have  oxen." 

By  this  time,  they  began  to  enter  the  Gap., 
The  mountains  and  precipices  had  been  growing 
more  lofty,  and  seemed  to  draw  nearer  and  nearer 
to  the  road,  until  now  they  appeared  to  overhang 
the  valley  all  around.  Sometimes  they  would 
pass  under  a  towering  cliff  of  rocks,  with  trees 
clinging  to  the  sides,  and  growing  out  of  the 
crevices. 

From  one  such  precipice  Lucy  saw  water 
dripping  down  from  a  great  height,  and  falling 
upon  some  stones  by  the  side  of  the  road. 

"  O  mother,"  said  Lucy,  "  see  the  water  com- 
ing down." 

"  Yes,"  said  Robert ;  "  that's  where  the  greai 
icicle  was  last  winter." 


THE  GAP  AMONG  THE  MOUNTAINS.    155 

"  Was  there  a  great  icicle  there  ? "  asked 
Lucy. 

"  Yes,"  replied  Robert,  "  a  monster.  'Twas 
as  tall  as  the  steeple  of  the  meeting-house." 

"  O,  what  a  big  icicle  !  "  said  Luc\ .  "  I  should 
like  to  see  it." 

"  If  you  come  here  next  winter,"  said  Robert, 
"  I  expect  you  can  see  it." 

Strictly  speaking,  it  was  not  an  icicle  that 
Robert  had  seen  nankin";  down  on  the  face  of  the 
rocks,  the  last  winter,  though  it  looked  like  one. 
It  was  caused  by  the  freezing  of  the  water,  as  it 
dripped  down  from  a  vast  height.  It  looked  very 
much  like  a  monstrous  icicle  cimo-mrr  to  tne  rock. 

Here  they  came  suddenly  upon  another  bridge. 
Lucy  was  surprised  to  see  so  many  bridges. 

"  How  many  brooks  there  are  !  "  said  Lucy. 

"  O  no,"  said  Robert,  "  only  one  brook.  All 
the  bridges  that  we  have  come  to,  are  over  one 
brook.     It  is  the  outlet  of  Emery's  Pond." 

"  What  is  an  outlet  ?  "  asked  Lucy. 

"  I  don't  know,"  said  Robert,  "  exactly. 
They  always  call  it  the  outlet." 

"  What  is  an  outlet,  mother  ?  "  said  Lucy. 

"  Why,  ponds  among  the  mountains,"  replied 
her  mother,  "  generally  have  little  streams  ran- 
niny  into  them,  comino;  down  from  the  little 
valleys,  and  from  springs.  And  this  water  must 
run  out  again,  so  that  there  is  generally  a  place 
where  the  water  runs  out,  and  that  is  called  the 
outlet." 


156     LLCY  AMONG  THE  MOUNTAINS. 

"  And  is  this  brook  the  outlet  to  Emery's 
pond  ?  "  asked  Lucy. 

"  Yes/  replied  Robert ;  "  and  all  the  bridges 
which  we  have  come  across,  are  over  this  same 
brook." 

"  What  do  they  have  so  many  for  ? "  asked 
Lucy. 

"  Why,  they  must  have  a  bridge  every  where, 
where    they    want    to    cross,"    replied    Robert 
"  The  banks  are  too  steep  and  rocky  to  ford." 

"  But  why  need  they  cross  so  many  times  ? " 
asked  Lucy's  mother.  "  Why  not  keep  on  one 
side,  or  on  the  other,  all  the  way  ?  " 

"  Because,"  said  Robert,  "  they  can't  make 
the  road.  They  keep  going  back  and  forth  across 
the  brook  wherever  it's  easy  to  make  a  road. 
Besides,  it  is  not  much  work  to  make  a  bridge." 

"  How  do  they  make  it? "  asked  Lucy. 

"  Why,  they  cut  down  a  couple  of  large  trees, 
for  stringers,  —  string-pieces,  —  or  else  three.  I 
believe  they  generally  have  about  three." 

"  What  do  you  mean  by  string-pieces  1 " 

«  Why,  pieces  to  go  across  the  stream  from  one 
bank  to  the  other,  to  put  the  planks  on." 

"  Do  they  generally  have  three  ? "  asked  Lu- 
cy's mother. 

"  Yes,  ma'am,"  replied  Robert,  "  I  believe  they 
do.  Then  they  split  up  some  logs  for  plank,  and 
so  cover  it." 

"  That  makes  me  think,"  said  Lucy,  "  of  what 
you  said  about  Mr.  Emery  s  house.     You  said  ho 


THE    GAP    AMONft    THE    MOUNTAINS.        157 

was  going  to  get  some  boards  to  cover  it  up. 
What  is  he  going  to  cover  his  house  up  with 
boards  for  ?  " 

Robert  laughed  aloud  at  this  question. 

"  You  needn't  laugh,"  said  Lucy.  "  You  said 
that  he  was  going  to  cover  his  house  up." 

"  No,"  replied  Robert.  "  I  said  cover  his 
house  ;  not  cover  it  up." 

"  Well,"  said  Lucy,  "  I  don't  think  there's 
much  difference.  Besides,  I'm  pretty  sure  you 
said  cover  it  up.     Didn't  he,  mother  ?  " 

"  Let  us  hear  what  Robert  says  he  meant" 
replied  her  mother. 

"Why,  I  meant,  cover  his  house,"  replied 
Robert ;  "  that  is,  nail  boards  on  it,  to  keep  out 
the  wind  and  rain." 

"  Hasn't  he  got  any  boards  nailed  on  his 
house  ?  "  asked  Lucy. 

"  Yes,"  said  Robert,  "  he's  got  one  room 
covered  in,  and  he  lives  in  that.  He's  trying  to 
finish  the  rest  this  fall." 

It  was  in  vain  that  Lucy  attempted  to  form  a 
distinct  conception  of  the  appearance  which  Mr. 
Emery's  house  would  make,  with  one  room 
covered  in,  as  Robert  called  it,  and  the  rest  wait- 
ing for  boards  yet  to  be  sawed.  She  said  no 
more,  however,  but  rode  on,  feeling  great  curiosity 
to  see  the  house,  and  asking  Robert  to  show  i! 
to  her,  as  soon  as  they  should  come  in  sight  of  it 

14 


IbS 


CHAPTER    XII. 

PUMP-MAKING 

In  about  a  quarter  of  an  hour,  they  emerged 
from  the  Gap,  and  came  out  into  an  open,  circular 
valley,  surrounded  by  lofty  mountains.  They 
here  crossed  the  stream  again  by  a  log  bridge, 
and  rode  along  afterwards  upon  its  bank ;  the 
stream  being  on  their  left  hand,  and  woods  upon 
the  right. 

"  Now,"  said  Robert,  "  we  shall  soon  come  to 
Emery's  opening." 

"  What  do  you  mean  by  his  opening  ? "  said 
Lucy. 

"  Why,  his  farm,"  answered  Robert. 

While  Lucy  was  considering  why  they  should 
call  a  farm  an  opening,  she  obtained  a  glimpse  of 
a  small  sheet  of  water  before  them.  It  was  a 
little  pond,  shut  in  among  the  mountains.  They 
very  soon  reached  it.  Lucy  saw  where  the  brook 
came  out  of  the  pond.  They  rode  along  a  little 
way,  by  the  shore  of  the  pond.  On  the  other 
side  of  the  road,  there  was  what  Lucy  called  a 
field  of  corn  and  stumps.  A  little  farther  on. 
"ust  in  the  edge  of  a  group  cf  forest-trees,  which 
remained  standing,  Lucy  saw  a  small  house. 

"  There's  Mr.  Emery's  house,"  said  Robert. 

Lucy  looked  at  the  house  with  great  attention 


PUMP-MAKING.  150 

as  they  gradually  drew  near  to  it.     It  was  small 
One  end,  the  nearest  end,  as  they  rode  towards 
it,  was  covered  with  boards,  which  looked  new. 
The  other  end  was,  as  Lucy  said,  all  timbers. 

"  Yes,"  said  Robert;  "he  hasn't  covered  bui 
one  room  yet.  That's  what  he  wants  to  gel 
some  boards  for  now,  to  put  on  the  rest  of  it." 

Lucy  saw  several  small  buildings  around  the 
house.  They  were  made  of  logs  and  slabs. 
There  was  a  large  haycock  behind  the  house, 
with  a  roof  over  it,  supported  at  the  corners  by 
tall  poles.  In  front  of  the  house,  there  was  a 
man  at  work  upon  a  great,  log.  The  log  was 
lying  in  a  horizontal  position,  each  end  being 
clocked  up  from  the  ground .;  that  is,  each  end 
was  supported  by  blocks  and  logs  put.  underneath. 

"What  are  they  doing  with  that  great  log? ' 
said  Lucy's  mother. 

"  I  guess  they're  going  to  make  boards  of  it," 
said  Lucy. 

"  No,"  said  Robert ;  "  they're  boring  it.  I 
expect  they  are  going  to  make  a  pump." 

"  1  did  not  know  that  ihey  could  make  a  pump 
out  of  a  log, '  said  Lucy. 

"  Yes,"  said  Robert ;  "  don't  you  see  he's  bor- 
ing a  hole  through  it  ?  " 

Lucy  now  observed  that  the  man  who  was 
working  at  the  logr  stood  at  the  end  of  it,  and  that 
he  had  a  tool  in  his  ho-  \  tbat  looked  like  an 
auger.  He  held  the  hanchf  of  it,  and  kept  con- 
tinually turning  it  round.  The  iron  part  e.itered 
into  a  hole  in  the  end  of  the  log,  and  Lucy  saw 


160     LUCY  AMONG  THE  MOUNTAINS. 

that  he  was  boring  a  hole  into  it.  She  thought, 
However,  that  he  certainly  could  not  bore  in  but  a 
very  little  way. 

There  was  a  little  boy  sitting  upon  the  oil  it; 
end  of  the  log.  Lucy  could  not  imagine  vhat  h* 
was  doing.  She  thought  that  he  was  too  small  a 
boy  to  help  make  a  pump ;  and  yet  he  seemed 
to  be  doing  something  very  busily.  As  the 
wagon  drew  nearer,  Lucy  observed  that  he  was 
playing  horse.  He  had  mounted  upon  the  farther 
end  of  the  log,  and  had  tied  a  string  round  the 
end  for  a  bridle,  and  was  playing  that  the  log 
was  his  horse.  He  had  a  stick  in  his  hand, 
and  was  whipping  his  horse  severely,  to  make 
him  go. 

When  the  wagon  had  advanced  nearly  opposite 
to  the  house,  Lucy  said,  — 

"  Mother,  let  us  stop  a  moment,  and  see  the 
man  make  his  pump." 

"  Well,"  replied  her  mother,  "  Robert  may 
stop  a  moment,  if  he  pleases." 

So  Robert  stopped  his  horse  opposite  to  the 
end  of  the  log,  where  the  man  was  at  work  boring 
the  hole. 

"  You've  got  almost  through,  John,  haven* 
you  ?  "  said  he. 

"  Yes,"  said  the  young  man,  "  I've  only  got  to 
go  about  a  foot  farther." 

Lucy  looked  at  John,  surprised  that  Robert 
should  address  him  so  familiarly  ;  but  she  observed 
that,  though  he  was  nearly  full  grown,  and  looked 
like  a  man,  yet  he  appeared  in  his  countenance 


PUMP-MAKING.  161 

ijuite  young.  She  thought  it  probable  that  he 
was  one  of  Mr.  Emery's  boys,  almost  grown  up. 
Just  at  this  moment,  a  woman,  very  plainly 
dressed,  came  out  of  a  back  door  in  the  house, 
with  a  water-pail  in  her  hand,  and  walked  along  a 
path  which  led  down  a  descent  beyond  the  house. 
She  looked  at  the  wagon  a  moment  as  she  went 
along,  but  did  not  stop.  Lucy  followed  the 
direction  of  the  path  with  her  eye,  and  she  saw 
that  it  led  down  to  a  little  brook  not  far  from  the 
house.  There  was  a  log  across  the  brook  where 
the  path  reached  it,  and  a  deep  place  in  the 
water,  just  above  the  log.  Lucy  saw  very  plainly 
that  the  woman  was  going  to  get  a  pail  of  water. 

Lucy  meant  to  watch  her,  to  see  her  dip  up 
ner  water.  In  fa^t,  she  was  afraid  that  she  would 
fall  off  the  log.  She  was,  however,  prevented 
from  watching  her,  by  having  her  attention 
attracted  suddenly  to  John  and  his  boring ;  for, 
just  before  the  woman  reached  the  brook,  John 
began  to  draw  out  his  auger. 

He  walked  backwards,  keeping  hold  of  the 
handle  of  the  auger  with  both  hands,  and  drawing 
it  out  as  he  receded.  It  was  a  long  iron  rod, 
which  kept  coming  out  more  and  more,  the  far- 
ther he  went  back,  till  Lucy  began  to  think  that 
the  end  of  it  would  never  come. 

"  O,  what  a  long  borer ! "  said  Lucy. 

In  fact,  the  borer  was  as  long  as  the  log.     It 
would    do   no   good   to   have  a  log   for  a   pump 
longer  than  the  auger  to  be  used  in  boring  it ;  for 
in  that  case  the  hole  could  not  be  bored  through 
14* 


162     LJCY  AMONG  THE  MOUNTAINS. 

Accordingly,  Mr.  Emery  had  cut  off  his  lo£  & 
.ittle  shorter  than  his  auger,  in  order  that  it  mi»  it 
go  through.  After  John  had  got  the  auger  out, 
he  did  something  to  the  end  of  it,  and  then  rut 
it  in  asrain. 

"  When  are  you  going  to  set  your  pump  I " 
said  Robert. 

"  Father  is  going  to  bring  up  the  boxes  to- 
night," said  John,  "  and  then  we  shall  set  v.  as 
soon  as  we  can  get  it  ready." 

"  Have  you  got  your  well  dug  ?  " 

"  Yes,"  said  John ;   "  there  it  is." 

So  saying,  John  pointed  to  a  place  by  the  side 
of  the  house,  where  there  was  a  heap  of  fresh 
earth,  with  a  hollow  place  in  the  middle,  and 
some  short  boards  laid  close  together  in  the  hoi- 
low  place. 

"  We  are  going  to  build  our  barn  out  beyond 
there,  and  so  the  pump  will  be  handy  for  the 
house  and  the  barn  too.  It  is  very  hard  water- 
ing the  cattle  in  the  brook  in  the  winter,  it 
freezes  up  so  much." 

"  And,  besides,"  said  Lucy's  mother,  "  it  is  a 
great  way  to  bring  up  water  to  use  in  the  family." 

"  Yes,  ma'am,"  said  John. 

Lucy  looked  down  towards  the  brook,  and  saw 
that  the  woman  was  coming  back,  with  her  pail 
filled  with  water.  Lucy  had  just  time  to  see  her ; 
for  Robert  drove  on,  and  the  woman  was  soon  hid 
behind  one  of  the  little  buildings.  Lucy  was,  how- 
ever, very  glad  to  see  that  she  had  not  fallen  in. 

"  1  don't  see  how  he  is  going  to  make  a  pump 
of  that  great  log,"  said  Lucy. 


PUMP-MA  KING.  KM 

"  Why,  when  he  gets  it   bored/   said    Robert. 

1  he  will  finish  off  one  end  of  it  like  a  pump,  and 

then  they'll  let  the  other  end  down  into  their  well. 

and  board  up  close  all   around  it,  so   that    people 

shall  not  fall  in.     Then  he'll  make  a  handle." 

"  I  should  think  it  would  make  rather  a  rough 
pump,  after  all,"  said  Lucy's  mother. 

"  No,  ma'am,"  said  Robert ;  "  he'll  make  a  very 
good  pump  of  it.     He's  a  very  good  workman/ 

"I  don't  see  what  makes  the  water  come  up  in 
a  pump,"  said  Lucy. 

"  The  boxes,"  replied  Robert. 

"  What  are  the  boxes  ?  "  asked  Lucy. 

"  Why,  they're  —  they're  —  little  things  in  the 
pump.     Didn't  you  ever  see  boxes?  " 

"  Yes,"  said    Lucy,    "  a   great    many  times." 
Lucy  meant  common  boxes,  not  pump-boxes. 

"  Well,"  said    Robert,  "  you    know    the  little 
clapper." 

"  No,"  said   Lucy ;  "  I   don't   remember  any 
tappers." 

"  Why,  yes,"   said    Robert,  "  a    little  clapper 
made  of  leather." 

"  No,"  said  Lucy  ;  "  there  is  not  any  clapper 
in  any  of  the  boxes  I  ever  saw." 

"  Then  you  never  saw  any  pump-boxes,"  said 
Robert. 

"  Why,"  said  Lucy,  "  are  they  different  from 
any  other  kind  of  boxes  ?  " 

"  Yes,"  exclaimed  Robert,  emphatically,  "  al 
together  different.     There  is  a  little  leather  clap- 
per, that  lets  the  water  up,  and  then  keeps  it  from 
eoing  down  again." 


\M 


LUCY    AMONG     l'HE    MOUNTAINS. 


But  Lucy  could  not  understand  bow  any  thing 
could  be  contrived  to  let  the  water  come  up,  and 
tben  keep  it  from  going  down.  Robert  told  her 
about  the  upper  box  and  tbe  lower  box ;  but  he 
did  not  succeed  in  making  it  plain  to  her.  In 
fact,  it  requires  considerable  skill  in  the  art  of 
describing  and  explaining,  to  communicate  any 
clear  idea  of  the  internal  construction  and  working 
of  a  pump.  Lucy  could  not  get  any  idea  of  it 
whatever.  She  asked  her  mother  to  explain  it  to 
her ;  but  her  mother  said  that  she  did  not  under- 
stand it  very  well  herself.  So  Lucy  said  she  did 
not  know  what  she  should  do. 

The  road  led  them,  for  a  time,  along  the  shores 
of  the  pond,  and  generally  not  much  above  the 
w»ter.  And,  as  they  passed  along,  they  could 
see  the  water  on  one  side  of  them,  and  sometimes 
they  had  forests,  and  sometimes  steep  rocks,  on 
the  other.  At  length,  they  came  to  a  place  where 
Lucy  proposed  that  they  should  stop  and  eat 
their  luncheon.  It  was  a  place  where  a  brook 
flowed  into  the  pond.  The  road  crossed  the 
brook  by  a  bridge,  just  above  its  juncture  with 
the  pond  ;  so  that,  when  they  were  on  the  bridge, 
they  could  see  the  pond  below  them,  between 
the  steep  banks  of  the  ravine,  through  which  the 
brook  flowed.  One  of  the  banks  was  an  almost 
perpendicular  clifF  of  rock.  The  other  was  not 
quite  so  abrupt,  and  it  was  covered  with  trees 
They  could  see  that  down  upon  the  shore  of  the 
pond,  there  was  a  smooth,  sandy  beach,  extending 
aloni  the  shore  on  each  side  of  the  mouth  of  the 
brook.     Lucy  proposed  that  they  should  stop  here- 


PUMP-MAKING.  165 

"  Well,"  said  her  mother,  "I  thiiik  it  will  be  a 
very  good  plan." 

"  Yes,  ma'am,"  said  Robert ;  "  there  is  plenty 
of  good  grass  about  here,  too,  for  Hero." 

Lucy  had  not  noticed  the  grass ;  but  now  she 
observed  that,  on  each  side  of  the  road,  and  near 
the  banks  of  the  brook,  above  the  bridge,  there 
was  plenty  of  grass.     So  they  all  got  out. 

Robert  began  to  unharness  the  horse,  after 
driving  him  a  little  way  out  of  the  road.  Lucy 
stood  on  the  end  of  the  bridge,  looking  at  him. 
Her  mother  began  to  descend  the  rocks,  below 
the  bridge,  in  order  to  get  down  to  the  bed  of  the 
brook,  intending  to  follow  it  along  to  the  pond. 
Lucy  wanted  to  go  with  her  mother,  and  she  aho 
wanted  to  see  Robert  take  care  of  the  horse. 

"  Mother,  wait  for  me,"  said   Lucy. 

"  I'll  go  along  slowly,"  said  her  mother. 

"But,  mother,"  said  Lucy,  "  I  can't  get  along, 
unless  you  help  me." 

"  Yes,"  said  her  mother,  "  I  think  you  can. 
At  any  rate,  if  I  find  any  place  where  I  think 
you  can't  get  along,  I  will  wait  for  you." 

Robert  went  on  unharnessing  his  horse.  He 
put  the  several  parts  of  the  harness  in  the  wagon 
as  he  took  them  off,  and  at  last  nothing  remained 
but  the  bridle. 

"  Robert,"  said  Lucy,  "  are  you  going  to  fasten 
him  to  a  tree  ?  " 

"  No,"  said  Robert  ;  "  he  couldn't  eat  the 
grass,  if  I  should." 

"  What  are  you  going  to  do,  then  ? "  said  Lucv 

"  T  am  going  to  let  him  go  where  he  likes  " 


166  LUCY    AMONG    THE    MOUNTAINS. 


"  O  Robert,"  said  Lucy,  "  then  he'll  run 
away." 

"  No,"  said  Robert. 

Robert  then  unfastened  the  throat-lash,  and 
took  hold  of  the  bridle,  at  ?be  top  of  the  horse's 
head,  and  drew  it  over  his  ears,  and  off  before ; 
and  then  the  bits  dropped  easily  out  of  his  mouth, 
and  the  horse,  understanding  that  he  was  liberated, 
drew  his  head  away.  He  walked  off  a  few  steps, 
and  then  lay  down  to  roll,  while  Lucy  stood 
laughing  heartily  at  the  awkward  figure  he  made, 
with  all  his  four  heels,  as  she  called  them,  in  the  air. 

"  I  believe  he'll  run  away,"  said  Lucy. 

"  No,"  said  Robert ;  "  he  won't  run  away." 

"  And,  besides,  I  don't  believe  you  can  catch 
him,  and  put  his  bridle  on  again." 

"  Yes,"  said  Robert ;  "  I've  got  some  salt  in 
my  pocket,  on  purpose." 

Lucy  had  heard  of  catching  birds  by  sprinkling 
salt  on  their  tails,  and  she  stood  bewildered  and 
perplexed,  trying  to  imagine  how  this  method  was 
to  be  applied  to  Hero,  when  she  heard  her  moth- 
er calling  her.  So  she  turned  away  from  Robert, 
and  began  to  descend  the  bank,  towards  her 
mother,  calling  out,  — 

"  Yes,  mother  ;  I'm  coming." 

Robert  carried  the  bridle  to  the  wagon,  and  put 
it  in  ;  and  then  he  pushed  the  wagon  entirely 
out  of  the  road,  so  that,  if  a  team  were  to  come 
by,  it  would  not  run  against  it.  After  doing  that, 
he  followed  Lucy  and  hei  mother  down  the  bank 
of  the  stream. 


let 


CHAPTER    XII 1. 

THE   RETURN. 

They  found  a  very  pleasant  place,  indeed,  foi 
their  luncheon,  under  some  shelving  rocks,  at  the 
angle  between  the  ravine  of  the  brook  and  the 
shore  of  the  pond.  They  could  see  the  whole 
surface  of  the  pond,  and  the  woods  and  mountains 
beyond.  There  was  only  one  house  in  sight,  and 
that  was  Mr.  Emery's.  The  unfinished  end  was 
turned  towards  them.  Lucy  took  out  a  mug 
from  the  tin  pail,  and  went  to  the  brook  to  dip  up 
some  water,  to  see  if  it  was  cool.  Her  mother 
told  her,  before  she  went,  that  she  had  no  doubt  it 
was  cool.  Lucy  found  it  as  her  mother  had  said. 
It  was  very  cool  indeed.  She  dipped  up  her 
mug  full  from  a  little,  deep  place  among  some 
stones  covered  with  green  moss.  It  looked  very 
cool,  and  it  proved  to  be  so  on  tasting  it. 

Lucy  brought  a  mug  of  it  to  her  mother. 

"  Mother,"  said  Lucy,  "  how  did  you  know  it 
was  cool  ?  " 

"  Because,"  said  her  mother,  "  brooks  become 
warm  when  they  flow  for  a  long  distance  across 
an  open  country  exposed  to  the  rays  of  the  sun. 
But  this  brook  comes  directly  down  from  the 
mountains,  flowing  through  the  woods  all  the  way  ; 
so  that  I  think  the  water  could  not  have  had 
time  to  get  warm  " 


168  LUCY    AMONi;     TTTE    MOUNTAINS. 

"  Where  does  it  come  from,  at  first  ?  "  said 
Lucy. 

"  It  comes  from  a  syring,"  srid  be:  mother,  "  I 
suppose.  Some  springs  break  out  of  the  ground 
from  under  a  rock." 

"  What  makes  the  spring  ?  "  asked  Lucy. 

"  Why,  the  water  in  the  mountains  above,"  re- 
plied her  mother,  "  presses  down  in  among  the 
rocks,  and  wherever  there  is  a  crevice  in  the  rock 
near  the  surface  of  the  ground,  the  water  comes 
out." 

"  But  what  makes  there  be  water  in  the  moun- 
tains above  ?  "  asked  Lucy. 

"  It  comes  from  rains." 

"  Then  I  should  think  that,  when  it  had  done 
raining,  it  would  pretty  soon  stop  coming  out  in 
the  spring." 

"  No,"  said  her  mother  ;  "  it  takes  a  great  while 
to  drain  off.  The  earth,  and  the  moss,  and  the 
roots,  and  the  stones,  hold  the  water  like  a  great 
sponge.  It  slowly  soaks  down,  and  gets  into  the 
crevices  and  fissures,  and  so  runs  out  in  a  steady 
stream,  wherever  a  fissure  or  any  opening  of  the 
rock  comes  out  to  the  surface.  Still,  if  it  has  not 
rained  for  a  very  long  while,  the  springs  begin  to 
grow  low,  and  some  of  them  stop  running 
entirely." 

They  staid  at  this  place  more  than  an  hour. 
After  they  had  eaten  their  luncheon,  they  rambled 
about  among  the  rocks,  and  along  the  shore, 
gathering  flowers.  Lucy  amused  herself  in  pick- 
ing up  pebbles  and  throwing  them  into  the  watei 


THE    RETURN.  169 

Robert  pointed  to  a  patch  of  green  leaves  which 
were  floating  upon  the  water  at  some  distance 
from  the  shore,  and  said. that  that  was  a  field  of 
lily  pads. 

"  Lily  pads,"  repeated  Lucy  ;  "  what  are  lily 
pads  ? " 

"  Why,  that  is  where  the  pond  lilies  grow," 
said  Robert.  "  We  come  out  here  sometimes, 
and  get  them." 

"  I  never  saw  any  pond  lilies,"  said  Lucy. 
"  Are  they  pretty  ?  " 

"0,  yes,"  said  Robert,  "beautiful.  They  are 
white,  and  just  like  a  star  ;  and  when  they  are 
open,  they  are  as  big  as  the  palm  of  my  hand." 

"I  wish  I  could  get  one,"  said  Lucy. 

"  I  would  go  and  get  you  one,"  said  Robert, 
"  if  it  was  the  right  season.  But  it  is  too  late  ; 
they  are  all  gone  now." 

"  How  could  you  get  them,"  asked  Lucy's 
mother,  "  if  there  were  any  now  r " 

"  0,  we've  got  a  raft,"  said  Robert,  "  along  the 
shore  here  a  little  way.  The  boys  made  a  raft, 
and  we  come  and  go  out  on  that." 

"  Boys  !  '  said  Lucy's  mother  with  surprise. 
"  I  shouldn't  think  that  there  would  ever  be  any 
boys  here." 

"  0,  yes,"  said  Robert,  "  there  are  a  great 
many  boys  live  about  here." 

"Why,  where?"  said  Lucy's  mother.  "Ex- 
cepting Mr.  Emery's  house,  I  have  not  seen  any 
signs  of  inhabitants  at  all.     It  is  all  desolation." 

There  were,  however,  a  great  number  of  farms 


170     LUCY  AMONG  THE  MOUNTAINS. 

lying  on  the  various  by-roads  around,  and  Lucy's 
mother  did  not  know  from  how  wide  a  circle  boys 
would  gather  to  get  lilies  from  a  pond. 

Lucy  asked  her  mother  to  let  her  walk  along 
the  shore  with  Robert,  and  see  his  raft. 

"  How  far  is  it,  Robert  ?  "  asked  her  mother. 

"  Only  a  few  steps,"  replied  Robert.  "  But, 
then,"  continued  he,  '•'  if  you  would  rather  not 
have  her  go  away,  I  can  bring  it  along  here." 

"  How  ? "  said  her  mother. 

"  O,  I  can  push  it  right  along,"  said  Robert. 

"  Well,"  replied  Lucy's  mother,  "  that  will  be 
the  best  plan." 

So  Robert  went  oft'  after  his  raft,  around  a 
point  of  land  which  made  out  a  little  way  into 
the  pond,  while  Lucy  continued  rambling  about 
upon  the  sandy  beach,  near  her  mother. 

A  few  minutes  afterwards,  as  Lucy  was  stoop- 
ing down  to  pick  up  a  singular  piece  oi'  wood, 
which  had  been  curiously  worn  and  bleached  by 
the  water,  she  heard  her  mother  calling  to  her,  - 

"  Why,  Lucy  !  look  at  Robert." 

Lucy  looked  up,  and  saw  Robert  just  coming 
into  view,  with  his  raft,  around  the  point  of  lanu. 

"  Why,  he's  sailing  on  the  raft,"  said  her  moth- 
er. "  I  did  not  know  he  meant  to  come  in  that 
way.  I  thought  he  was  going  to  push  it  along 
oy  the  shore." 

Robert  said  that  he  was  going  to  push  it  ii  is 
true  ;  but  he  meant,  push  it  by  means  ol  a  pole, 
with  himself  upon  it.  Lucy  and  her  mother 
were  both  i  little  afraid  that  he  might  get  in ;  but, 


THE    RETURN.  173 

as  he  seemed  entirely  at  his  ease,  and  uncon- 
cerned, thev  gradually  dismissed  their  fears,  and 
watched  his  progress  as  he  slowly  approached 
them.  Lucy  was  very  much  interested  in  the 
examination  of  the  raft,  as  it  drew  near.  It  was 
made  of  logs  which  the  boys  had  cut  from  the 
woods,  with  smaller  pieces  laid  across  and  pinned 
on  to  keep  it  all  together.  On  the  whole,  they 
concluded  that  it  was  a  very  strong  and  substan- 
tial raft.  Robert  sailed  about  upon  it  for  some 
time. 

Lucy  wanted  him  to  go  out  to  the  lily  pads,  to 
see  if  there  might  not  be,  possibly,  one  left ;  but 
her  mother  was  afraid  to  have  him  go  out  where 
it  was  so  deep.  Besides,  Robert  said  that  he 
was  sure  that  not  a  single  lily  could  be  found,  for 
it  was  altogether  beyond  the  season  of  them. 

While  Robert  was  sailing  about  upon  his  raft 
in  the  shallow  water,  Lucy  had  a  long  conversa- 
tion with  her  mother  about  springs,  brooks,  and 
ponds.  Her  mother  told  her  that  ponds  were 
occasioned  by  there  being  a  natural  hollow  place 
among  the  mountains,  surrounded  by  high  land 
on  all  sides,  so  that  the  water  which  ran  into  it 
from  brooks  and  springs,  could  not  run  out  until 
it  rose  high  enough  to  run  over  at  the  lowest 
place  in  the  surrounding  land  ;  and  that  that  was 
the.  outlet.  She  also  explained  to  her  how  it 
happened  that  some  brooks  ran  very  swiftly, 
tumbling  over  rocks,  and  others  flowed  deep  and 
smooth,  and  almost  still.  At  length  they  con- 
cluded that  it  was  time  to  go  home.  So  she  took 
15* 


174  LT3CY    AMONG    THE    MOUNTAINS. 

the  pail,  and  Lucy  and  her  mother  went  back 
up  the  ravine  to  the  road,  while  Robert  sailed 
back  on  his  raft  behind  the  point  of  land  ;  for  he 
said  that  he  must  put  the  raft  away  where  't 
belonged. 

Robert  did  not  come  back  to  the  mouth  of  the 
brook  again,  but  he  climbed  up  the  bank  into  the 
road,  at  the  place  where  he  fastened  the  raft. 
Lucy  and  her  mother  sat  down  upon  the  end  of 
one  of  the  great  logs,  on  the  side  of  the  bridge, 
and  waited  for  Robert  to  catch  the  horse,  and 
harness  him.  The  horse  was  grazing  by  the  side 
of  the  road,  at  a  little  distance  from  the  bridge ; 
but  not  on  the  side  where  Robert  was  coming. 
Robert  therefore  had  to  go  across  the  bridge,  to 
catch  him.  As  he  was  passing  by  Lucy  and 
her  mother,  he  put  his  hand  into  his  pocket,  and 
took  out  something  folded  up  in  a  piece  of  brown 
paper. 

"  Is  that  the  salt  ?  "  said  Lucy. 

"  Yes,"  said  Robert. 

So  Robert  opened  the  paper,  and  began  to  call 
out  to  the  horse,  — 

"  Hero !  Hero  !  Hero !  Hero !  " 

Hero  paid  no  attention  to  the  call,  but  went 
on  quietly  cropping  the  grass. 

"  Hero  !  Hero  !  Hero !  Hero  !  "  said  Robert, 
walking  along  towards  him. 

Hero  lifted  up  his  head,  turned  it  deliberately 
towards  Robert,  looked  at  him  a  moment,  and 
then    put  it  down    again.     He    took   twc    more 


THE    RETURN.  175 

raouthiuls    of    grass,  and    then    turned    around, 
beginning  to  walk  towards  Robert. 

Robert  stopped  on  the  end  of  the  bridge,  and 
waited  for  him,  holding  out  the  paper  in  his  hand. 
When  Hero  got  near,  Robert  stooped  down,  and 
poured  out  the  salt  upon  the  plank  floor  of  the 
bridge.  To  Lucy's  surprise,  the  horse  came  to 
the  place,  and  began  to  lick  up  the  salt  with  his 
great  tongue.  While  he  was  doing  it,  Robert  put 
the  bridle  on.  Then  he  stood  still,  and  let  the 
horse  finish  eating  the  salt,  and  then  led  him 
away. 

"  /  shouldn't  like  to  eat  so  much  salt,"  said 
Lucy. 

Robert  harnessed  the  horse  into  the  wagon,  and 
then  they  got  in,  and  drove  away.  They  rode 
an  hour  or  two  by  a  way  which  went  winding 
around  among  forests  and  mountains,  sometimes 
opening  before  them,  so  that  they  could  see  wide 
prospects,  and  sometimes  shut  in  by  rocks,  and 
towering  trees,  which  overhung  the  road,  and 
made  it  sombre  and  solitary. 

After  a  time,  they  began  to  ascend  a  pretty 
steep  and  winding  road,  shut  in  by  the  forests  and 
mountains.  Sometimes  they  had  by  their  side,  as 
they  travelled  slowly  along,  a  noisy  brook,  some- 
times a  morass,  covered  with  cedars  and  firs ;  and 
sometimes  an  impenetrable  thicket  growing  out  of 
steep  slopes  of  land  covered  with  moss,  and  rocks, 
and  trunks  of  fallen  trees.  All  this  time  they 
were  constantly  ascending.  Still,  althougn  they 
were  gradually  gaining  a  high  elevation,  they  had 


176  LUCY    AMONG    THE    MOUNTAINS. 

no  prospect ;  for  their  view  was  shut  in  by  the 
forests  and  mountains  all  around  them.     At  lengtn, 
they  came  to  a  piece  of  road  which  war.  level 
The  horse  bes;an  to  trot.     It  was  the  first  time 
that  he  had  trotted  for  nearly  half  an  hour. 

u  Here  is  some  level  road,"  said  Lucy.  "  I'm 
glad  of  it,  for  now  we  can  go  faster." 

"  Yes,"  said  Robert ;  "  we've  got  to  the  heignt 
of  land." 

"  What  is  that  ? "  said  Lucy. 

"  Why,  the  highest  place.  Pretty  soon,  we 
shall  be  going  down  again." 

They  came  to  the  end  of  the  level  road  pretty 
soon,  and  then  began  to  descend  a  little  ;  and 
presently,  at  a  turn  of  the  road,  they  came  out  to 
a  place  where  they  suddenly  had  a  very  extensive 
and  magnificent  prospect  opened  before  them-. 

"  O  mother,"  said  Lucy,  "  how  far  we  can  see ! " 

"  Yes,"  said  her  mother.  "  Stop  a  minute, 
Robert,  and  let  us  look  at  this  prospect. 

"  Why,  Robert,"  said  she  again,  in  a  moment, 
"  there  is  your  father's  house  !  " 

She  pointed  to  a  house  away  before  them,  very 
far  down  the  valley. 

"  Yes,"  said  Robert ;  "  we  can  always  see  it 
from  here,  very  plainly.  And  I  can  see  this  rock 
from  our  yard." 

Robert  pointed  to  a  great  rocky  precipice  by 
:he  side  of  the  road,  and  he  said  that  they  once 
came   and  built  a  fire  upon  it,  and   hu   mother 
could  see  the  smoke  at  their  door,  verv   plainly 
Lucy  was   very  much  surprised  to  see  /X)w  low 


THE    RETURN  177 

down  in  the  valley  the  house  appeared.  They 
could  see  the  stream  beyond  it,  and  Robert 
pointed  out  to  them  the  fording-place,  where  they 
had  crossed  on  their  way,  when  they  first  came  to 
the  General's.  The  General's  house  seemed 
now  to  be  nearly  down  upon  a  level  with  the 
water.  This  was  an  illusion,  occasioned  by  their 
high  position.  They  could  see  the  mill-pond, 
too,  and  the  bridge  ;  and  Lucy  showed  her  mother 
the  green  store  where  she  and  Comfort  went  a 
shopping.  She  tried  also  to  see  the  great  stone, 
where  they  got  caught  by  the  water  from  the  mill ; 
but  it  was  not  to  be  seen.  Lucy  thought  it  was 
hidden  by  the  mill. 

They  gazed  around  upon  the  prospect  for 
some  time,  and  then  Robert  began  to  move  on 
towards  home.  In  fact,  it  was  getting  near  the 
evening ;  and  they  saw  some  clouds  in  the  west, 
which  made  them  think  it  was  possible  that  there 
might  be  a  shower  coming;. 

The  road  was  now  generally  descending  ;  so 
Robert  made  Hero  go  pretty  fast.  The  clouds 
behind  them,  however,  increased.  At  last,  one, 
blacker  and  larger  than  the  rest,  appeared  to  be 
coming  up,  and  Lucy's  mother  said  that  she 
believed  that  there  was  going  to  be  a  shower. 
But  she  was  mistaken.  It  rose  higher  and  higher, 
and  for  a  time  appeared  threatening;  but,  a  iter 
all,  it  brought  nothing  with  it  but  a  gust  of  wind. 
After  this  had  passed,  the  sky  was  somewhat 
clearer,  though  the  sun  had  set,  and  the  twilight 
was  fast  coming  on      Lucy  suddenly  discovered 


1?8  L.UCY    AMONG    THE    MOUNTAINS. 

a  very  bright  star  in  the  middle  of  a  large  ope» 
place  among  the  clouds  ;  and  she  exclaimed,  — 

"  O  mother,  see  that  star  !  " 

"  Yes,"  said  her  mother ;  "  that's  Venus,  \ 
really  believe.     Yes,  it  must  be  Venus." 

"  The  evening  star  ?  "  said  Lucy. 

"  Yes,"  said  her  mother ;  "  see  how  bright  it  is  ; 
and  yet  you  cannot  see  any  other  star  in  the  sky." 

Lucy  looked  all  around,  but  no  other  star  was 
to  be  seen.  The  sky  was  somewhat  obscured  by 
clouds  ;  but  in  the  spaces  between  the  clouds 
there  were  no  stars  to  be  seen. 

"  You  see,  Lucy,"  said  her  mother,  "  that  it 
would  not  have  done  any  good  for  you  to  have 
got  up  early  to  see  the  morning  star  ;  for  Venus 
is  the  evening  star  now ;  the  sun  is  before  her." 

"  Yes,  mother,"  said  Lucy. 

"  And  so,  being  before  her,"  continued  hei 
mother,  "  the  sun  goes  down,  and  leaves  Venus  a 
little  way  up  in  the  sky.  Of  course,  when  he 
rises  in  the  morning,  he  leaves  Venus  a  little 
below  the  horizon,  where  she  is  out  of  sight." 

"  How  fast  Venus  goes !  "  said  Lucy. 

"  No,"  said  her  mother ;  "  it  is  the  motion  of 
the  clouds  which  makes  it  look  as  if  Venus  was 
^oing  fast.  But  yet  she  is  going  down  slowly. 
If  you  notice  how  high  she  is  now,  and  then 
again  when  we  get  home,  you  will  see  that  she 
has  gone  down  considerably." 

Lucy  said  that  she  meant  to  watch    Venus. 
But  she  did  not  watch  her  very  lung,  for  her  at 
ention  was  attracted  by  a  large  light,  some  dis- 


THE    RETURN.  179 

tance  before  them.  It  was  in  the  direction  of  the 
General's  house.  Lucy  and  her  mother  both  saw 
it  at  the  same  time.  Lucy  thought  it  was  a  beau- 
tiful light,  but  her  mother  was  frightened.  She 
was  afraid  that  it  was  the  General's  house  on  fire. 

"  No,''  said  Robert ;  "  it  is  not  our  house.  It 
is  this  side  of  our  house.  It  must  be  some  fire  in 
the  woods." 

"  But  who  should  be  building  fires  in  the 
woods  this  time  of  the  day  ?  "  asked  her  mother. 

"  I  don't  know,"  replied  Robert ;  "  only  I  know 
that  there  often  are  fires  about." 

As  they  went  on,  the  light  grew  broader  and 
brighter.  Presently  they  thought  the)  saw  the 
flash  of  a  flame,  and  then  some  sparks  ascending. 

"  What  can  it  be  ?  "  said  Robert.  "  It  looks 
as  if  it  was  near  my  clearing.  There  !  "  he  ex- 
claimed again,  after  a  moment's  pause,  "  I  know 
what  it  is.  It  is  that  great  heap  which  we  tried 
to  set  on  fire." 

"  That  heap  ?  "  said  Lucy 

"  Yes,"  said  Robert ;  "  I've  no  doubt  it's  that 
heap.  The  fire  has  been  working  under  it  all 
day,  heating  it  through,  and  now  these  gusts  of 
wind  have  set  it  a-going." 

Robert  was  right.  Lucy's  mother  could  hardly 
believe  that  fire  could  have  remained  inactive 
under  such  a  heap  of  combustibles,  and  finally 
break  out,  after  so  long  an  interval.  But  it  was 
really  so.  The  wood  which  they  had  put  under 
»t,  had  set  some  of  the  iower  parts  of  the  heap  on 
fire,  and  they  had  burned  away  slowly  ;  while  the 


180  LUCY    AMONG    THE    MOUNTAINS 

aot  air  and  gases,  rising  up  through  the  heap,  had 
been  gradually  drying  rt ;  and  now  the  wind  had 
fsnned  the  whole  up  into  a  flame.  The  Hght  of 
the  fire  grew  brighter  and  brighter  as  they  drew 
nearer,  although  they  could  not  get  a  distinct 
view  of  it,  on  account  of  trees  which  intervened. 
A.t  length,  however,  when  they  reached  the  part 
of  the  road  which  was  opposite  to  it,  the  whole 
burst  at  once  upon  their  view,  blazing,  crackling, 
and  roaring,  in  a  manner  almost  terrific.  Lucy's 
mother  said  it  was  quite  a  conflagration.  The 
whole  heap  was  a  burning  mass  from  top  to  bot- 
tom. The  forms  of  all  the  crooked  logs  and 
stumps  were  yet  preserved,  but  they  were  all  of 
the  brightest  red  ;  and  the  flames  curled  and  flashed 
above  in  the  most  furious  manner.  If  Hero  had 
not  been  an  uncommonly  docile  norse,  ne  would 
have  fled  in  terror.  A  vast  column  of  smoke 
and  sparks  ascended  fiom  the  heap,  far  up  int* 
the  dark  sky. 

They  looked  at  it  a  few  minutes,  ana  then 
drove  home.  When  they  got  out  of  the  wagon, 
and  were  going  into  the  house,  they  stopped  a 
moment  on  the  door-step,  to  look  back  at  Venus 
and  the  fire.  Venus  was  just  going  down,  and 
the  bright  glow  of  the  fire  was  very  distinctly 
risible  behind  a  hill. 


THE    ENT» 


COUSIN   LUCY 


ON 


THE   SEA- SHORE. 


BY  THE  AUTHOR  OF  THE  ROLLO  BOOKS. 


-0<3pS<00- 


THE   LUCY   SERIES 


IS    COMPOSED    OF   SIX   VOLUMES,    VIZ.  .* 


Lucy  Among  the  Mountains. 
Lucy's  Conversations. 
Lucy  on  the  Sea-Shore. 


Lucy  at  Study. 
Lucy  at  Play- 
Stories  told  to  Cousin  ia.oi?. 


A   NEW   EDITION,    REVISED   BY   THE  AUTHOR. 


NEW     YORK: 

THOMAS   Y.   CROWELL    &    CO., 

No.  13  Astor  Place. 


PREFACE. 


This  volume,  with  its  companion, 
Cousin  Lucy  among  the  Moun- 
tains, is  intended  as  a  continuation  of 
Lucy's  history,  four  volumes  of  which 
have  been  already  published.  They 
present:  to  the  juvenile  reader  an  ac- 
count of  the  gradual  progress  made 
by  our  little  heroine  in  the  acquisition 
of  knowledge,  and  in  the  formation  of 
characlei,  though  in  very  different 
scenes  from  those  in  which  the  inci- 
dents of  the  preceding  volumes  have 
been  laid. 


CONTENTS. 


Page 
CHAPTER  I. 

The  Round  Room 9 


CHAPTER  II. 
Ax  Invitation 23 

CHAPTER  III. 
A  Long  Ride 33 

CHAPTER  IV. 
Aunt  Mary's 46 


CHAPTER  V. 
Fiie  Library 55 


'l1 


CHAPTER  VI. 
The  Sea-Shore 67 

CHAPTER  VII. 
xValks  and  Rides 79 


8  CONTENTS. 

Page. 
CHAPTER  VIII. 

A  True  Story 91 

CHAPTER  IX. 
The  Rescue 100 

CHAPTER  X. 
Coating 116 

CHAPTER  XI. 
The  Lighthouse 129 

CHAPTER  XII. 
Going  to  Town 146 

CHAPTER  XIII. 
Willie's  Ride 157 

CHAPTER  XIV. 
Blind  Jack 163 

CHAPTER  XV. 
Going  Home 179 


LUCY  ON  THE  SEA-SHOKE. 


CHAPTER    I. 

THE  ROUND  ROOM. 


Lucy  had  a  little  chamber  of  her  own.  It  was 
as  high,  in  the  middle  of  it,  as  other  chambers, 
but  the  ceiling  sloped  away  on  one  side,  so  that, 
around  behind  her  bed,  there  was  scarcel}'  room 
for  Lucy  herself  to  stand  upright.  And  yet 
Luc}'  was  not  very  large,  for  she  was  but  seven 
years  old.  She  often  wondered  why  the  ceiling 
of  her  chamber  was  not  made  level,  like  other 
chambers ;  but  she  never  thought  to  ask  her 
mother. 

In  her  chamber  there  was  a  little  book-case 
with  three  shelves  in  it,  and  a  curtain  before  it,  to 
keep  the  dust  out.  She  kept  her  picture-books 
and  her  stoiy-books  on  the  two  upper  shelves,  and 
her  playthings  upon  the  lower  shelf.     The  lower 


10  LUCY    ON    THE    SEA-SHORE. 

shelf  was  level  with  the  floor,  and  the  top  of  the 
bookcase  was  not  higher  than  her  head,  so  that 
she  could  reach  every  part  of  it  very  conve- 
niently. 

Lucy  sometimes  got  tired  of  play,  and  then  she 
used  to  go  and  ask  her  mother  what  she  should 
do.  On  such  occasions,  her  mother  had  several 
times  sent  her  up  stairs  to  arrange  her  books  in 
the  bookcase.  She  did  not  give  her  this  to  do 
as  pla3T,  because  she  knew  that  she  was  tired 
of  plajr,  and  would  probably  not  be  any  better 
pleased  with  this  than  with  any  other  amusement. 
So  she  assigned  it  to  her  as  work.  But,  then, 
though  Lucy  used  to  go  to  it  reluctantly,  as  to  a 
task,  she  always  became  soon  very  much  inter- 
ested in  it,  finding  continually  something  new  in 
the  pictures,  as  she  opened  the  books  to  look  at 
them,  in  order  to  determine  where  to  arrange 
them. 

One  rainy  day,  Lucy  could  not  go  to  school. 
She  was  very  sorry  for  this,  for  Marielle  had 
promised  to  bring  a  painting  of  a  large,  beauti- 
ful butterfly  to  the  school  that  day,  to  show  her. 
Marielle  was  a  great  friend  of  Lucy's  at  school. 

Lucy  watched  the  skies  till  after  nine  o'clock  ; 
but  there  was  no  prospect  of  a  cessation  of 
rain.  Then  she  sat  with  her  mother  for  an  hour 
or  two,  sewing.    At  last  she  got  tired  of  sewing ; 


THE    ROUND    ROOM.  11 

she  did  not  know  what  to  do.  So  her  mother 
let  her  have  her  paint-box,  and  Lucy  tried  to 
paint  a  butterfly.  She  traced  the  outline  from  a 
picture  which  she  found  in  one  of  her  picture- 
books,  by  holding  it  up  to  the  window  ;  and  thus 
she  made  a  drawing.  She  painted  the  butterfly 
as  well  as  she  could,  and  then  she  painted  a 
horse,  and  next  a  farm-house  with  a  brown  roof, 
and  black  smoke  coming  out  of  the  chimney. 
By  this  time,  the  colors  which  her  mother  had 
rubbed  for  her  upon  the  saucer  were  pretty 
nearly  exhausted,  and  the  water  in  her  tumbler 
had  become  very  turbid.  Besides,  she  was  tired 
of  painting,  and  she  went  to  her  mother  to  know 
what  she  should  do  next. 

"  I  think  it  is  very  evident  what  }rou  ought  to 
do  next,"  said  her  mother. 

"What?"  said  Lucy. 

Her  mother  looked  towards  the  table,  where 
Lucy's  painting  apparatus  was  lying,  but  said 
nothing. 

"  Put  my  things  away?"  said  Luc}'. 

"  Certainly,"  said  her  mother. 

So  Lucy  took  her  tumbler  and  saucer  to  the 
pump,  and  washed  and  wiped  them,  and  then 
put  them  away.  She  looked  over  the  papers 
which  were  left  upon  the  table,  and  cut  out  the 


12  LUCY    ON     THE    SEA-SHORE. 

ittle  pictures  which  she  had  made,  and  which  she 
wished  to  keep,  and  then  gathered  up  all  the 
other  papers  and  scraps,  and  threw  them  into  the 
kitchen  fire.  She  carried  the  brushes  and  the 
pencil,  and  placed  them  upon  her  mother's  paint- 
box, in  a  little  parlor  closet,  where  her  mother 
kept  it,  and  then  put  down  the  leaf  of  the  table, 
where  she  had  been  at  work,  and  set  back  the 
chair.  Thus  the  room  was  restored  to  order 
again.  Her  mother  had  taught  her,  before,  how 
to  put  her  painting  apparatus  away. 

It  was  now  nearly  dinner-time,  and  Lucy 
busied  herself  for  some  time  in  setting  the  table. 
It  still  continued  to  rain.  She  asked  her  mother 
if  she  thought  it  would  stop  raining,  so  that  she 
could  ffo  to  school  in  the  afternoon.  Her  mother 
said  that  she  could  not  go  to  school  at  any  rate, 
because,  even  if  it  should  cease  to  rain,  the  streets 
would  be  too  wet  for  her  to  go  out. 
At  dinner-time,  her  mother  said,  — 
"  Now,  Lucy,  after  dinner  you  may  have  half 
an  hour  to  play,  and  then  I  want  to  have  you 
finish  arranging  your  books." 

Lucy  said,  "  Very  well ;  I  will  go." 
Now,  Lucy  had  a  large,  flat  cushion,  which  her 
mother  had  made  for  her,  when  she  was  a  little 
girl,  to  sit  upon,  on  the  floor.     She  called  it  hei 


rHt    ROUND    ROOM.  13 

divan.     It  was  black,  and  it   was  made   pretty 
strong. 

So,  when  the  half  hour  had  expired,  Lucy  took 
her  divan,  and  carried  it  up  stairs,  and  placed  it 
before  her  bookcase.  She  opened  the  doors  of 
her  bookcase,  and  stood  looking  a  few  minutes  ai 
*he  interior. 

The  plan  which  Lucy  had  adopted  for  arran- 
ging her  books  was,  to  put  the  prettiest  and  most 
interesting  ones  upon  the  upper  shelf,  and  the 
others  upon  the  second  shelf,  and  to  place  all  the 
books  upon  each  shelf,  regularly,  in  little  piles,  ac- 
cording to  their  size  and  shape. 

After  Lucy  had  been  about  an  hour  at  her 
work,  her  mother  went  up  to  see  how  she  got 
along.  She  found  her  seated  upon  her  divan, 
before  her  bookcase,  with  three  books  in  her  lap, 
and  one  in  her  hand,  open  before  her. 

"  Well,  Lucy,"  said  her  mother,  "  have  you 
got  your  books  arranged  ?  " 

"  Why,  no,  mother,"  said  Lucy ;  "  I  am  read- 
ing this  story  of  Blind  Jack.  It  is  a  very  pretty 
story.  I  put  the  book  on  the  low  shelf  a  few 
days  ago,  but  now  I  am  going  to  take  it  out,  and 
put  it  on  the  high  shelf.  I  think  it  is  one  of  the 
prettiest  books  I  have.  There  is  another  story  ir 
it  about  the  sand  desk.     Mother,"  she  continued 


14  LUCY    ON    THE    SEA-SHORE. 

"  should  you  like  to  have  me  read  to  you  th« 
story  ahout  the  sand  desk,  when  I  come  down  ? 

"  Yes,"  repiiei  her  mother ;  "  you  may  put  up 
your  books,  and  come  down,  and  read  it  to  me 
now,  if  you  please." 

"  Well,"  said  Lucy.  So  she  put  her  books 
apon  the  shelf,  and  took  her  divan  under  her 
arm,  and  went  down  stairs.  She  found  her 
mother  in  the  round  room. 

The  round  room  was  not,  as  its  name  might 
imply,  really  round.  It  was  so  called  oecause  it 
had  a  curve  in  one  side,  where  there  was  a  bow 
in  the  house.  This  bow  was  towards  the  south, 
and  the  window  opened  down  to  the  floor,  so  that 
they  could  walk  out  when  the  window  was  up. 
It  was  a  small  room,  and  a  very  pleasant  one  to 
sit  in,  especially  on  rainy  days  ;  for  there  was  a 
very  pleasant  prospect  of  the  road  from  the  bow 
window.  On  one  side  of  the  window  in  the  bow 
there  was  a  work-table,  and  on  the  other  side  a 
little  case  of  books,  with  small  drawers  below. 
Lucy's  mother  was  seated  in  this  room,  looking 
towards  the  window,  when  Lucy  came  in  with 
her  book  and  her  divan.  She  put  her  divan 
down  upon  the  floor,  under  the  window,  between 
the  table  and  the  secretary,  and  sat  upon  it. 
She  asked  her  mother  if  she  was  ready  to  hear 


THE    SAND    DESK.  15 

and  her  mother  said  she  was.     So  Lucy  began  as 
follows :  — 

"THE  SAND  DESK, 

"  Maria  was  a  little  girl,  who  lived  in  a  log 
house,  in  the  woods,  near  the  shore  of  a  lake. 
There  was  a  sand}r  beach  b}T  the  side  of  the  lake, 
near  the  house,  where  Maria  used  to  go  and 
play. 

"  Maria's  father  was  a  farmer.  He  had  sheep, 
and  oxen,  and  cows,  and  a  horse,  and  plenty  to 
eat,  and,  in  the  winter,  wood  enough  to  make  great 
blazing  fires  in  his  large  stone  fireplace.  But  he 
had  no  books,  and  no  pen  and  ink  to  write  with. 
He  had  one  Testament,  partly  worn  out,  and  an 
inkstand  on  a  high  shelf ;  but  the  ink  had  all  dried 
up.  Maria  was  sorry,  because  she  wanted  to 
learn  to  write.  She  was  a  very  little  girl.  She 
had  not  yet  learned  to  read,  though  her  mother 
had  showed  her  some  of  the  letters  in  the  Testa- 
ment ;  and  sometimes  she  would  sit  down  upon  a 
block  in  the  chimne}*  corner,  and  turn  over  the 
leaves,  and  see  how  man}'  letters  she  could  find 
that  she  knew. 

"One  summer  morning,  she  rambled  away  bare- 
footed, and  without  an}'  bonnet  upon  her  head, 
down  to  the  shore  of  the  pond.     She  never  had 


16  LUCY    ON    THE    SEA-SHORE. 

had  any  bonnet,  though  her  mother  had  promised 
to  make  her  one,  when  she  was  big  enough  to 
milk.  When  she  got  down  to  the  beach,  the 
water  looked  beautifully.  It  was  smooth  and 
still,  and  there  was  a  great  rock  at  a  little  dis- 
tance from  the  shore,  with  a  rugged  top,  wbxh 
m"ras  reflected  in  the  water.  The  sand  upon  the 
beach  was  white  and  smooth,  and  it  yielded  a 
little  to  her  step,  so  that  her  bare  feet  made  a  very 
distinct  and  perfect  impression  upon  it. 

"  Maria  took  up  a  pointed  stick,  which  was  lying 
upon  the  shore,  and  she  found  that  she  could 
mark  upon  the  sand  beautifully  with  it.  First 
she  made  an  O ;  then  she  made  an  S ;  then  she 
tried  to  make  the  figure  of  a  dog,  but  this  she 
could  not  do  very  well.  She  then  made  several 
other  letters,  as  well  as  she  could  remember  the 
shapes  of  them ;  and,  when  she  got  tired  of  this, 
she  walked  about,  drawing  the  stick  after  her, 
with  a  waving  motion,  until  she  had  covered  the 
whole  beach  with  serpentine  and  zigzag  lines. 

"  After  about  an  hour,  she  went  home,  and  told 
her  mother  what  a  fine  time  she  had  had,  marking 
upon  the  sand. 

" '  Yes,'  said  her  mother,  '  I  read,  when  I  was 
a  little  girl,  that,  in  some  parts  of  the  world,  chil- 
dren learn  to  write  by  writing  upon  sand.' 


THE    SAND    DESA..  17 

" c  Where  did  you  get  your  books,  mother,  to 
read  in,  when  you  were  a  little  girl  ? ' 

" '  O,  I  had  several  books  when  I  was  young,' 
said  her  mother.  '  My  father  gave  me  some, 
and  my  uncles  gave  me  some,  and  some  I  had  in 
school.' 

"  '  Were  there  any  pictures  in  them  ? '  said 
Maria. 

"  l  Yes,'  said  her  mother,  '  plenty  of  pictures.' 

"  '  And  where  are  all  the  books  now  ? ' 

" '  O,  I  don't  know  ;  I  did  not  take  very  good 
care  of  them,  and  so  they  got  lost  and  destroyed.' 

"  '  I  wish  I  had  some  of  them,'  said  Maria ;  '  1 
would  take  good  care  of  thern.' 

"  '  I  wish  I  had  them  all,1  replied  her  mother. 
'  I  did  not  know  that  I  should  ever  want  them 
as  much  as  I  do  now ;  if  I  had,  I  should  have 
kept  them  very  safe.  But  now  they  are  all 
gone.' 

"  That's  the  end,  mother,"  said  Lucy,  shutting 
up  the  book. 

"  It's  a  pretty  good  story,"  said  Royal ;  "  what 
book  is  it  in  ?  " 

Lucy  looked  up,  and,  to  her  surprise,  saw  hei 
brother  Royal  standing  in  the  door-way.  He  had 
2* 


18  LUCY    ON    THE    SEA-SHORj. 

come  in  while  Lucy  was  reading,  and  had  stopped 
to  hear  her  story. 

"  It  is  in  my  elephant  book,"  said  Lucy. 

She  always  called  that  her  elephant  book,  be- 
cause it  nad  the  picture  of  an  elephant  in  it,  near 
the  beginning. 

"  Is  it  1 "  said  Royal.  "  I  mean  to  read  your 
elephant  book  some  day  ;  but  now  come  with  rat 
and  see  it  clear  away." 

"  Is  it  clearing  away  ? "  said  Lucy,  starting  up 

"  Yes,"  said  Royal,  "  the  clouds  are  breaking, 
ind  pretty  soon  the  sun  will  be  out." 

Lucy  jumped  up  off  her  divan,  and  began  10 
look  out  of  the  window. 

"  O,  you  can't  see  there,"  said  Royal ;  "  come 
with  me  to  the  front  door." 

So  Lucy  took  her  divan  under  her  arm,  and. 
holding  her  book  in  her  other  hand,  she  went  off 
with  Royal  to  the  front  dooi.  Royal  opened  the 
door  wide.  Lucy  looked  out,  and  saw  that  it  hau 
stopped  raining.  It  was  warm ;  so  she  put  her 
divan  down  in  the  door-way,  and  sat  upon  it,  with 
her  book  in  her  hand.     Royal  sat  by  her  side. 

"  R(  yal,"  said  she,  "  do  you  think  the  sun  will 
come  out  before  I  have  time  to  carry  up  my  ele- 
phant book,  and  put  it  in  my  bookcase  ?  " 


THE     ROUND    ROOM.  10 

"  No,"  said  Royal,  "  not  if  you  are  quick.'* 

So  Lucy  ran  off*  up  stairs,  and  put  away  hei 
book,  and  pretty  soon  came  back  again.  As  she 
came  to  the  top  of  the  stairs,  she  asked  if  the  sun 
had  come  out. 

"  Why,  you  can  tell,"  said  Royal,  "  by  looking 
on  the  floor." 

"  How  can  I  tell  by  the  floor  ? '    said  Lucy. 

"  Why,  it  would  shine  in  upon  the  floor,"  said 
Royal,  "  if  it  had  come  out  through  the  clouds." 

"  Well,  tell  me  plainly,  is  it  out  or  not  ? " 

*c  No,"  said  Royal  ;  "  but  I  can  see  some  blu< 
sky." 

Lucv  came  down  the  stairs  as  fast  as  she  could, 
to  see  the  blue  sky.  She  found  that  the  appear- 
ance  of  the  clouds  had  altered  a  great  deal  while 
she  had  been  up  stairs.  The  clouds  were  broken 
and  white  in  many  places,  and  there  were  two 
openings,  through  which  she  could  see  the  blue 
sky.  In  a  few  moments,  the  rays  of  the  sun  burs' 
forth  from  one  of  them  in  great  splendor. 

"  There's  the  sun  ! "  said  Lucy.  "  How  it 
dazzles  my  eyes  !  " 

The  whole  landscape  looked  smiling  and  pleas- 
ant, though  o-litterino;  with  the  water  which  had 
fallen.  Drops  hung  frou*  the  trees,  and  little 
streams  flowed  along  the  sides  of  the  road ,  and 


20  LUCY    ON    THE    SEA-SHORE. 

fht).  i  was  one  quite  large  pool  of  water,  which  had 
bee??  left  by  the  shower,  in  the  middle  of  the  road, 
oppoute  to  the  house. 

"  Ii  it  wasn't  so  wet,"  said  Lucy,  "  I  should 
like  to  go  and  take  a  walk." 

"  If  we  had  a  horse  and  chaise,"  said  Royal, 
"  we  might  go  and  take  a  ride.  There  comes  a 
man  now,  riding,"  he  continued. 

"  Where  ?  "  asked  Lucy. 

"  There,"  said  Royal,  pointing  off  in  the  direc 
tion  in  which  Lucy  went  when  she  went  to  school 
"  Do  you  see  him  through  the  trees  ?  " 

Lucy  saw  him.  He  was  coming  pretty  fast. 
The  children  watched  him  as  he  drew  near. 

"  I  wonder  if  he'll  trot  right  through  that  great 
pond  of  water,"  said  Royal. 

"  Yes,"  said  Lucy,  "  he  will  have  to ;  it  is 
exactly  in  his  way.  We'll  see  what  a  spattering 
it  will  make." 

They  watched  the  man  until  he  drew  near  the 
house.  Lucy  then  looked  at  him  very  intentlv, 
and  said, — 

"  Why,  Royal,  its  Parker !  " 

"  Parker  ? "  repeated  Royal ;  "  who  is  Parker  ?  " 

"  Why,  he's  the  man  that  lives  at  Marielle's ; 
And  he  is  coming  here,  —  isn't  he  ? " 

For  just  as  Lucy  had  said  that  he  was  the  man 


THE    ROUND    ROOM.  21 

that  lived  at  Marielle's,  she  observed  that,  instead 
of  going  directly  on  through  the  pond  of  water, 
he  turned  his  horse  up  towards  their  door.  It 
was  a  large  and  handsome  white  horse.  He  held 
his  neck  very  proudly.  Parker  dismounted,  and 
fastened  the  horse  to  a  post  at  a  corner  of  the 
front  yard,  by  means  of  a  chain  which  was  fast 
ened  into  the  post  for  this  purpose. 

Parker  was  a  tall,  straight,  handsome-looking 
servant  man.     He  advanced  to   the    front  gate 
opened  it,  and  came  in,  then  stopped  before  Lucy 
and  Royal,  and  took  out  a  letter. 

"  Miss  Lucy,"  said  he,  "  here  is  a  letter  for 
your  mother.  Will  you  give  it  to  her,  with  Lady 
Jane's  compliments  ? " 

"  Yes,  sir,"  said  Lucy,  "  I  will." 

Lucy  took  the  letter,  and  Parker  returned  to 
his  horse,  threw  the  bridle  over  his  neck,  and  can* 
tered  off. 

"  I  wish  I  had  such  a  horse,"  said  Royal. 

"  I  wonder  what  this  letter's  about,"  said  Lucy 

"  You'd  better  carry  it  right  in  to  mother,"  said 
Royal.  "  I  wonder  why  he  didn't  wait  for  an 
answer.  And,  besides,  I  wonder  why  they  ca. 
Marielle's  mother  Lady  Jane." 

"  Because  she  is  a  lady,  I'm  sure,"  said  Lucy. 

"  That  isn't  the  reason,"  said  Royal.     "  But  I 


22 


LUCY    ON    THE    SEA-SHORE. 


believe  it  is  because  she  came  from  some  foreign 
country." 

So  Lucy  went  away  with  the  letter  to  hei 
mother,  while  Royal  sat  down  J.pon  the  step 
again,  watching  Parker,  as  he  galloped  slowly 
along  the  road,  saying  to  himself,  "I  think  he 
ought  to  have  waited  for  an  answer." 


23 


CHAPTER   IL 

AN  INVITATION. 

Lucy  was  very  curious  to  learn  what  her 
mother's  letter  was  about,  but  her  mother  said  she 
could  not  tell  her  an3r  thing  about  it. 

"  Why  not,  mamma?"  asked  Lucy. 

"  I  have  nothing  to  say  about  the  reason,"  said 
her  mother. 

"  Shall  you  ever  tell  me? " 

"  Perhaps  so,  and  perhaps  not,"  answered  her 
mother. 

"  Well,  mother,  have  }rou  any  objection  to  my 
trj'ing  to  guess  ?  "  said  Lucy. 

"  No  ;  no  objection  at  all,"  said  her  mother. 

"Well,"  said  Luc}',  "I  guess,  then,  that  it's 
to  tell  me  there  is  not  going  to  be  any  school 
to-morrow." 

Luc}*  looked  up  to  her  mother  to  see  whether 
she  had  guessed  right.  But  her  mother  said 
nothing. 

"  Is  that  it,  mother?"  said  Lucy. 

"  I  said  that  you  might  guess,"  replied  hoi 


24  LUCY    ON    TJ         SEA-SHORE 

mother,  "  but  I  didn't  say  that  I  should  tell  you 
whether  you  guessed  right." 

"  But,  mother,  what  good  will  it  do  hi  me  tc 
guess,  if  you  don't  tcM  rap  whether  I  guess  right  or 
not  ?  " 

"  I  am  sure  I  don't  know,"  replied  her  mother; 
"  I  didn't  propose  to  you  to  guess." 

"  No,"  said  Lucy,  "  that's  true ;  but  then  I  wish 
I  knew.  However,  I  don't  think  that  is  it,  after 
all ;  for  1  don't  believe  that  Lady  Jane  would 
write  a  tetter  to  you  just  to  say  there  is  not  going 
to  be  any  school.  It  must  be  something  else.  I 
wish  I  knew  what  it  was." 

"  Is  it  a  pleasant  feeling  for  you,  Lucy,"  asked 
her  mother,  "  to  want  to  know  something  which 
you  cannot  know  ?  " 

"  No,  mother  ;  it  is  very  unpleasant." 

"  Then  why,"  said  her  mother,  "  do  you  keep 
your  mind  full  of  it  ? " 

"  I  don't  know  what  you  mean,"  replied 
Lucy. 

"  Why,  you  remain  here,  thinking  of  this  letter, 
and  keeping  yourself  in  a  painful  state  of  mind  ; 
whereas  you  might  go  away  and  forget  it." 

"  Well,  I'll  go  away,  and  try  to  forget  it,"  said 
Lucy ;  "  but  I'm  very  sure  that  I  can't." 

So  Lucv  went  awav :  but.  instead  of  trving  to 


AN     INVITATION.  25 

forget  the  subject,  she  went  to  ask  Royal  to  help 
her  guess. 

The  contents  of  the  letter  were,  in  fact,  these . 
Lady  Jane  said  that  she  was  intending  to  go  to 
the  sea-side  for  a  month,  and  to  take  Marielle 
with  her ;  and  she  wrote  that  letter  to  ask  Lucy's 
mother  to  let  Lucv  go  too.  She  said  that  Man- 
elle  was  very  desirous  of  having  Lucy  for  a  play- 
mate, and  that  she  had  herself  been  very  much 
pleased  with  Lucy's  gentle  and  quiet  character, 
and,  if  her  father  a-nd  mother  had  no  objection,  it 
would  give  her  a  great  deal  of  pleasure,  she  said, 
to  have  her  go  with  them.  When  Lucy's  mother 
had  read  the  letter,  she  thought  it  was  not  best  to 
say  any  thing  about  the  plan  to  Lucy  herself,  until 
her  father  had  come  home,  and  it  had  been  de- 
cided whether  it  was  best  to  accept  or  decline  the 
invitation. 

Now,  though  Lucy  had  a  chamber  of  her  own, 
as  is  described  in  the  first  chapter  of  this  book,  she 
only  used  it  as  a  place  of  deposit  for  her  books 
and  playthings,  and  also  to  play  in  when  she  ha  J 
company.  She  usually  slept  in  a  little  room  ad- 
joining her  mother's  bedroom.  Before  her  bed- 
time, her  father  and  mother  had  talked  about  the 
invitation    which  had  been  sent   to    Lucy    from 


26  LUCY    ON    THE     SEA-SHOKE. 

Marielle's  mother,  and  they  had  concluded  to 
accept  it,  and  let  Lucy  go.  Accordingly,  towards 
the  latter  Dart  of  the  evening,  her  mother  came 
into  the  parlor  where  Lucy  and  Royal  were  sit- 
ting at  the  table,  to  tell  Lucy  of  the  decision. 
Royal  had  some  paper  before  him,  on  which  he 
had  ruled  five  parallel  lines ;  and  he  was  trying  to 
write  a  tune.  Lucy  was  cutting  out  images  with 
her  scissors. 

"  Now,  Lucy,  I'll  tell  you  what  was  in  the 
note  from  Lady  Jane,"  said  her  mother. 

"  Well,"  said  Lucy,  "  what  was  it  ?  " 

"  She  says  that  she  is  going  to  spend  a  week  or 
two  at  the  sea-shore,  and  the  note  was  an  invita- 
tion for  you  to  go  with  her." 

"  Well,"  said  Lucy,  in  a  tone  of  great  delight, 
"  I  should  like  to  go  very  much.  Is  Marielle 
going  too  ? " 

"  Yes,"  replied  her  mother. 

Royal  stopped  in  the  middle  of  a  demisemi- 
quaver,  which  he  was  making,  and  looked  up, 
listening  very  attentively  to  what  was  said. 

"  O,  I  wish  I  could  go,"  said  he  ;  "  I  wish  1 
tould  go.  I  would  row  you  and  Marielle  abou? 
in  the  boats." 

"  When  are  we  going  ? "  asked  Lucy  not  pay- 
ing any  attention  to  what  Royal  had  said 


AN    INVITATION.  27 

"  How  do  you  know  that  youTre  going  at  all, 
Lucy  ? "  said  Royal ;  "  it's  nothing  but  an  in- 
vitation, yet." 

"  Yes,"  replied  her  mother,  "  we  have  con- 
cluded to  let  Lucy  go  They  set  off  in  a  day 
or  two." 

"  WeH,"  said  Lucy,  clapping  her  hands,  "  I'm 
very  glad.     1  never  went  to  the  sea-shore." 

"  I  went  once,"  said  Royal,  "  and  got  some 
shells  on  the  beach.  I  wish  you  would  get  me 
some  shells  on  the  beach,  Lucy,"  he  added.- 

"  Yes,  I  will,"  said  Lucy.  "  But  what  is  the 
beach  ? " 

"  Why,  it's  the  shore,"  replied  Royal ;  "  a 
smooth  and  sandy  shore.  You  can  walk  all  over 
it,  and  find  shells." 

"  Well,"  said  Lucy,  "  Marielle  and  I  will  get 
some." 

Lucy  began  to  make  a  great  many  inquiries  of 
Royal  about  the  sea-shore ;  but  pretty  soon  her 
mother  told  her  that  it  was  time  for  her  to  go  to 
bed  ;  and  she  accordingly  put  away  her  paper 
and  scissors,  and  followed  her  mother  into  her 
bedroom.  She  was  continually  asking  questions 
about  the  intended  excursion.  Her  mother,  how- 
ever, could  not  answer  them.  She  said  she  did 
not  know  any  of  the  arrangements  which  Ladv 


28  LUCY     ON    THE    SEA-SHORE. 

Jane  had  made.  She  did  not  know  how  they 
would  travel,  or  where  they  would  go ;  and  she 
advised  Lucy  to  dismiss  the  subject  from  her  mind, 
and  wait  till  to-morrow,  and  then  she  would  see 
Marielle  at  school,  and  could  ask  her  all  about  it. 

So  Lucy  got  into  her  bed,  and  laid  her  cheek 
upon  her  pillow  ;  and,  after  hearing  her  repeat  hei 
evening  prayer,  her  mother  bade  her  good  night, 
and  retired  into  her  own  bedroom.  The  door 
between  Lucy's  little  room  and  her  mother's  bed 
room  was  left  open,  so  that  Lucy  could  hear  her 
mother  moving  about  her  room,  while  she  was 
trying  to  go  to  sleep.  She  always  liked  to  have 
this  door  open,  after  she  had  gone  to  bed,  espe- 
cially if  her  mother  was  in  her  bedroom.  Even 
if  she  did  not  speak  to  her  at  all,  the  very  idea 
that  she  was  near,  was  company  for  her. 

"  Mother,"  said  Lucy,  at  length,  after  she  had 
been  silent  for  some  time,  "  shall  we  go  in  the 
stage,  do  you  think  ?  " 

"  No,"  replied  her  mother,  "  probably  not.  1 
presume  you  will  go  in  Lady  Jane's  carriage." 

Here  Lucy  was  silent  again  for  some  time. 
At  length  her  mother  heard  her  gently  call  opI 
again,— 

"  Mother  ?  " 

"  What,  Lucy  ?  "  said  her  mother 


AN    INVITATION.  29 

"  Do  you  suppose  that  Lady  Jane  will  let  Ma- 
rielle  and  me  go  out  in  any  boats  ?  " 

"  I  don't  know,"  said  her  mother.     "  She  will 
do  just  as  she  thinks  best  when  you  get  there. 
But  I  want  you  to  go  to  sleep  ;  you  had  better 
not  think  any  more  about  your  journey  to-nigh1 
but  shut  up  your  eyes,  and  go  to  sleep." 

"  But  I  can't  help  thinking  of  it,"  said  Lucy. 

"  Well,  at  any  rate,"  replied  her  mother,  "  you 
can  shut  up  your  eyes,  and  not  talk." 

"  I  do  keep  shutting  them  up,"  said  Lucy  ; 
"  but  they  won't  stay." 

Her  mother  laughed,  and  said  no  more. 

She  was  constantly  engaged  in  her  room  foi 
about  half  an  hour  after  this,  and  then  she  got 
ready  to  go  back  into  the  parlor ;  but,  before  she 
went,  she  had  occasion  to  go  into  Lucy's  room 
again.  Lucy  raised  her  head  suddenly,  and 
looked  at  her  mother,  with  eyes  wide  open. 

"  Why,  Lucy  1 "  said  her  mother ;  "  are  you 
not  asleep  yet  ?  " 

"  No,  mother,"  said  Lucy ;  and  so  saying,  she 
laid  her  head  down  upon  her  pillow  again. 

"  Why  don't  you  go  to  sleep  ?  " 

"  Why,  mother,"  said  Lucy,  "  I  don't  know 
how." 

"  Poor  girl !  "  said  her  mother      "  It  is  really 


30 


LUCY    ON    THE    SEA-SHORE. 


hard,  I  suppose."  And  so  saying,  she  went  away, 
and  left  her.  She  came  back  again  about  an 
hour  afterwards,  just  before  she  was  ready  to  go 
to  bed  herself ;  and  she  found  Lucy  lying  with  her 
head  upon  the  pillow,  and  her  cheek  upon  her 
hand,  fast  asleep. 


?i 


CHAPTER    ill. 

A   LONG   RIDE. 

One  beautiful  morning,  a  day  or  two  after  this 
time,  Lucy  found  herself  at  Lady  Jane's,  just  set- 
ting off  on  the  expedition  to  the  sea-shore.  The 
sun  was  shining,  and  the  air  clear,  for  the  dust  of 
the  roads  had  been  effectually  laid  by  the  rain. 
The  trees  and  grass  looked  green,  the  flowers 
bright  and  gay,  and  all  the  birds  were  singing 
merrily.  The  carnage  was  at  a  door  in  a  large 
yard  at  one  side  of  Lady  Jane's  house,  and  a  boy 
was  standing  at  the  heads  of  the  horses,  with  one 
hand  on  the  bridle  of  each  of  them.  The  horses 
were  white,  and  very  large  and  handsome.  They 
stood  quietly  while  Parker  helped  Lady  Jane  and 
the  children  in.  Parker  then  mounted  upon  the 
uox,  and  Lady  Jane  and  Marielle  bade  good-by 
to  every  person  who  was  standing  at  the  door, 
and  the  carriage  began  slowly  to  move  out  of  the 
yard.  It  went  under  a  large  arched  gate-way, 
which  had  a  grape-vine  climbing  over  it,  and 
♦wo  great  trees,  one  on  each  side  of  it. 


32  LUCY    ON    IliE    SEA-SHORE. 

Lucy  and  Marielle  sat  upon  the  front  seat 
The  carriage  was  very  open  in  front,  so  that  they 
could  see  all  around.  Lady  Jane  sat  upon  the  back 
seat.  She  was  much  older  than  Lucy's  mother, 
and  she  was  dressed  in  black.  Besides,  Lucy 
thought  that  she  always  looked  rather  mournful. 

Still  Lucy  liked  Lady  Jane  very  much.  Lady 
Jane  had  always  been  very  kind  to  her.  She 
liked  her  now  more  than  ever,  for  two  reasons : 
one  was,  because  she  had  invited  her  to  go  to  the 
sea-shore  with  her ;  and  the  other  was,  because 
she  had  said  in  her  note  that  she  thought  Lucy 
was  a  very  quiet  and  gentle  little  girl. 

Lucy  had  a  very  pleasant  ride  in  the  carriage 
all  that  day.  About  two  o'clock,  they  stopped  at 
a  hotel  in  a  considerable  village.  First,  they 
wt>nt  into  a  large  parlor,  and  sat  down  upon  a 
sofa.  In  a  few  minutes,  Parker  came  in,  followed 
by  a  girl  who  belonged  to  the  hotel,  and  said,  — 

"  Your  rooms  are  ready,  Lady  Jane." 

Lady  Jane,  Marielle,  and  Lucy,  rose  from  the 
sofa,  and  followed  the  girl  out.  She  conducted 
them  through  a  hall  into  a  small  parlor,  in  another 
part  of  the  house.  It  looked  out  into  a  pleasant 
yard  and  garden.  One  of  the  windows  opened 
down  to  the  floor,  so  that  they  could  go  out  by 
it  to  a  yard  outside,  and  thence  into  the  garden 


A    L.ONG    RIDE.  33 

This  window  was  open.  There  was  a  little  bed- 
room, with  a  bed  in  it,  which  opened  into  this 
parlor.  Lady  Jane  and  the  children  went  in 
there,  and  took  off  their  bonnets,  and  laid  them 
upon  the  bed.  Presently  some  one  knocked  at 
the  little  parlor  door.  Marielle  went  to  open  it- 
She  found  that  it  was  Parker,  who  had  come  to 
bring  the  work-bags  and  travelling  wallets  from 
the  carriage. 

"  The  dinner  will  be  ready  in  three  quarters 
of  an  hour,  madam,"  said  Parker. 

"  It  is  very  well,"  said  Lady  Jane.  "  How  dc 
the  horses  stand  the  journey  ?  " 

"  Very  well,  indeed,  madam,"  said  Parker. 

"  I'm  glad  to  hear  it,"  said  Lady  Jane.  "  Will 
you  look  out  into  this  little  yard  and  garden,  and 
see  if  it  will  do  for  the  children  to  go  out  there 
and  play  till  dinner  is  ready.  On  the  whole, 
they  may  go  out  with  you,  and  you  can  leave 
them  there  if  you  find  it  is  a  safe  and  proper  place 
for  them  ;  and  then  I  believe  I  shall  not  want 
any  thing  more.     Let  me  see,  —  is  there  a  bell  ?  " 

Lady  Jane  looked  around  the  room,  and  Parker 
pointed  to  a  bell-pull,  hanging  by  the  side  of  the 
fireplace. 

"  Very  well,"  said  she  ;  "  that  is  all." 

So  Parker  conducted  Marielle  and   Lucy  out 


34  LUCY    ON    THE     SEA-SHORE. 

into  the  garden,  leaving  Lady  Jane  to  rest  herself 
upon  a  sofa  in  the  little  parlor.  Parker  found 
that  the  yard  and  garden  were  very  retired,  and 
perfectly  safe  and  proper  for  the  girls  to  play  in. 
He  accordingly  left  them  there,  and  then  went 
away. 

In  due  time,  the  children  were  called  to  dinner 
They  found  a  table  spread  in  their  little  back 
parlor.  Parker  had  just  put  chairs  at  the  table, 
for  Lady  Jane  and  for  the  children.  He  had  on 
a  white  jacket  and  a  white  apron,  and,  when  they 
sat  down  to  the  table,  he  took  his  place  behind 
Lady  Jane's  chair,  and,  during  dinner-time,  he 
helped  them  all  to  what  they  wanted ;  for  Par- 
ker was  a  very  accomplished  servant,  and,  on 
such  occasions  as  this,  he  acted  in  various  ca- 
pacities. 

About  half  an  hour  after  dinner,  they  got  into 
their  carriage  again,  and  rode  away.  Marielle 
and  Lucy  kneeled  up  on  the  cushion  of  the  front 
seat,  and  looked  out  at  the  front  corner  of  the 
carriage,  and  talked  about  the  objects  which  suc- 
cessively came  into  view.  Sometimes  they  passed 
farm-houses,  orchards,  and  fields  covered  with 
corn,  a  ftw  inches  high.  Now  and  then,  they 
passed  through  a  village,  or  a  little  hamlet  around 
some  stream,  where  there  were  mills  and  a  bridge 


A    LONG    RIDE.  37 

Then,  again,  their  road  would  lay,  for  a  mile  or 
two,  in  a  wood,  which  shaded  them,  and  made  it 
cool  and  pleasant.  They  rode  on  so  for  some 
time ;  at  last,  the  children  became  tired  of  kneel- 
ing up;  so  they  sat  down  again,  and  talked  to  each 
other  about  what  they  would  do  when  they  should 
get  to  the  sea-shore.  Lucy  said  she  meant  to  get 
some  shells  upon  tne  beach. 

"  And  I  mean  to  go  and  sail  in  a  boat,"  said 
Marielle ;  "that  is,  if  mother  will  let  us.  Shall 
you  let  us  ? "  said  she. 

"  That  will  depend  upon  what  Parker  says," 
replied  her  mother. 

"  Why  ?  "  asked  Marielle. 

"  O,  if  he  says  he  can  find  a  good  boat,  and  he 
thinks  it  is  safe,  perhaps  I  shall  let  you." 

"  Couldn't  you  go  too,  mother  ? "  said  Ma- 
rielle. 

"  No,"  replied  her  mother,  "  I  do  not  th  nk  ] 
shall  go  out  on  the  water." 

"  I  never  sailed  in  a  boat  on  the  sea,"  said 
Lucy.  "  Once  I  sailed  on  a  river  with  my 
father." 

"  When  was  it  ?  "  asked  Marielle. 

"  O,  once,  when  we  were  travelling,"  said 
Lucy  ;  "  I  forget  where.  I  should  like  to  go  and 
sail  in  a  boat  on  the  sea  very  much,  if  Parker  will 


38  LUCY    ON    THE     SEA-SHORE. 


go   with    us.      Do  they  have  any  rafts  on     hf> 
sea  ? " 

"  Rafts  ? "  repeated  Marielle.  She  did  uol 
know  exactly  what  Lucy  meant  by  rafts. 

"  Yes,"  said  Lucy  ;  "  when  I  went  on  the 
mountains,  I  saw  a  raft  on  Emery's  Pond." 

"  What  kind  of  a  thing  was  it  ? "  asked  Ma- 
rielle. 

"  O,  it  was  made  of  logs.  There  was  a  boy 
there  named  Robert,  and  he  sailed  his  raft  out 
upon  the  water.  He  was  going  to  get  some 
lilies  ;  only  there  weren't  any." 

"  Lilies  ?  "  said  Marielle. 

"  Yes,  pond  lilies,  —  that  grow  in  a  pond." 

"  In  a  pond  ? '    repeated  Marielle,  surprised. 

"  Yes,"  said  Lucy  ;  "  the  lilies  grew  out  in  a 
pond,  where  the  water  was  very  deep.  I  saw 
the  leaves,  but  there  were  no  lilies  then." 

"  Why  ?  "  said  Marielle. 

"  Because  it  was  too  late,"  said  Lucy. 

This  conversation  led  to  Lucy's  telling  Marielle 
something  more  about  her  visit  among  the  moun- 
tains;  and,  after  a  while,  both  gradually  ceased 
talking,  and  rode  along  in  silence,  each  leaning 
back  in  a  corner  of  the  carriage.  After  that,  it 
was  not  a  great  while  before  they  both  fell  asleep 
They  did  not  wake  again  for  two  hours      Ma 


A    LONG    RIDE.  39 

rielle  opened  her  eyes  first,  being  disturbed  bv  the 
stopping  of  the  carriage.  The  first  thing  she  ob- 
served was,  that  Lucy  was  asleep  in  her  corner  of 
the  carriage. 

"  Why  !  "  said  she,  "  Lucy  is  asleep,  —  and  I 
almost  got  asleep." 

"  Yes,"  said  her  mother ;  "  I  think  it  was  al- 
most. You  have  been  sound  asleep  these  two 
hours." 

"  Why,  mother,"  said  Marielle,  "  I  did  not 
know  it ;  but  what  are  we  stopping  for  ?  " 

"  I  don't  know,"  replied  her  mother. 

Marielle  kneeled  up  on  the  seat  again,  and 
looked  out.  By  this  time,  Lucy  began  to  wake 
up  too ;  and  they  both  looked  out  to  see  what  was 
going  on.  Parker  had  driven  into  the  yard  of  a 
hotel,  in  quite  a  large  village.  There  was  a 
piazza  extending  along  the  side  of  the  house,  and 
within  the  piazza  several  windows,  and  one  01 
two  doors.  The  doors  led  into  the  hotel.  A 
man  came  out  at  one  of  the  doors,  with  a  great 
apron  on. 

"  Will  the  ladies  come  in  ?  "  said  he. 

w  Do  you  wish  to  stop,  Lady  Jane  ? '  said  Par* 
&er.     "  Pve  driven  up  here  to  water  the  horses." 

"  No,  I  believe  not,  Parker,"  said  Lady  Jane 
1  how  far  is  it  now  to  town  ? " 


40  LDCT    ON    THE    SEA-SHORE. 

"  About  eight  miles,"   replied   Parker ;    "  we 
shall  be  there  in  little  more  than  an  hour." 

"  Then  we  won't  get  out,"  said  the  lady. 

During  this  conversation,  Lucy  heard  the 
noise  of  a  pump ;  and  she  looked  in  the  direction 
from  which  the  noise  proceeded.  The  pump  was 
a  little  farther  along  in  the  yard.  It  was  painted 
green.  There  was  a  square  basin  of  stone  before 
the  pump,  to  hold  water  for  the  horses  of  travellers 
that  came  there  to  drink.  There  was  one  team 
there  then  —  a  team  of  horses  attached  to  a  mon- 
strous wagon,  loaded  up  high  with  boxes  and  bar- 
rels, all  tied  on  with  ropes.  There  were  four 
horses  to  it.  The  two  foremost  horses  were 
drinking  out  of  the  basin,  and  a  man  was  holding 
a  pail  to  the  mouth  of  one  of  the  other  horses, 
which  were  behind  them.  The  foremost  horses 
in  the  team  are  called  leaders.  The  pair  behind 
them,  which  are  harnessed  to  the  pole  or  tongue 
of  the  carriage  or  wagon,  are  called  pole-horses. 
The  boy  who  was  pumping  had  his  pail  hung 
upon  an  iron  support,  which  was  attached  to  the 
end  of  the  nose  of  the  pump,  so  that  the  pail 
while  it  was  hung  there,  caught  all  the  watei 
which  he  pumped.  Parker  stood  by  his  horse» 
Waiting  for  the  boy  to  bring  a  pail  of  water. 

"  Pa»*ker,"    « a.d    Marielle,    "  why    don't   yo> 


A    LONG    RIDE.  41 

liiive  light  up  to  the  pump,  and  let  the  horses 
drink  out  of  that  great  stone  Dox  ?  ''" 

"  Because,"  said  Parker,  "  there  is  a  team 
there  in  the  way." 

"  O,"  said  Marielle. 

"  Parker,"   said    Marielle   again,  after   a   mo 
meat's  pause,  "  what  makes  the  man  water  two 
of  his  horses  with  a  pail,  and  not  let  them  drink 
themselves  ? " 

"  The  pole-horses  can't  get  up  to  the  trough 
while  the  leaders  are  on,"  replied  Parker.     "  H 
might  take  off  his  leaders,  but  it  is  easier  to  carry 
the  water  to  the  other  horses  in  a  pail." 

By  this  time,  the  boy  had  brought  a  pail  of  wa- 
ter, and  Parker  held  it  up  to  the  mouths  of  his 
horses,  first  to  one,  and  then  to  the  other.  H 
gave  half  a  pailful  to  each.  Lucy  and  Mariella 
watched  the  operation,  and  they  observed  that, 
when  he  took  the  pail  away,  the  horses  were  re« 
/uctant  lo  let  it  go.  They  kept  their  heads  in 
the  pail  as  long  as  they  could. 

"  They  want  some  more,  Parker,"  said  Ma 
nelle. 

"  True,  Miss  Marielle,"  said  Parker ;  "  but  it  i'j 
not  best  to  give  horses  all  the  water  they  want, 
while  they  are  travelling." 

So  saying,  Parker  gave  the  bov  back  h*«  pail 


42  LUCY    ON    THE    SEA-SHORE. 

and  handed  him  a  small  piece  of  silver  money ; 
and  then  he  mounted  upon  the  box  again,  and 
drove  on.  As  they  were  turning  out  into  the 
main  road,  the  great  wagon  set  off  too,  and  went 
in  the  contrary  direction ;  the  wheels  rolling  over 
the  road,  with  a  heavy,  lumbering  sound. 

"  How  much  farther  is  it,  Marielle  ?  "  said  Lucv. 

"  Parker  said  just  now,"  replied  Marielle, 
"  that  it  was  about  eight  miles." 

"  No,  but  I  mean  to  the  sea-shore,"  said  Lucy. 
"  Parker  said  it  was  eight  miles  to  town." 

"  Well,"  replied  Marielle,  "  we  are  not  going  to 
the  sea-shore  to-night.     We  are  going  to  town." 

"  O,"  said  Lucy,  with  an  expression  of  sur- 
prise, "  I  thought  we  were  going  directly  to  tne 
sea-shore.  When  are  we  going  to  the  sea-shore  r " 
she  asked. 

"  I  don't  know,"  said  Marielle  ;  "  when  are  we. 
mother?" 

"  It  is  uncertain,"  said  Lady  Jane;  "pernaps 
day  after  to-morrow." 

Lucy  very  soon  saw  abundant  evidence  that 
they  were  not  to  go  to  the  sea-shore.  The  car- 
riages and  vehicles  of  all  sorts  were  constantly 
increasing  on  the  road.  The  villages,  too,  became 
more  frequent  and  larger.  The  road  grew  broau, 
and   a   little   dusty.     They   met   a   great  many 


A    LONG    RIDE. 


43 


loaded  teams,  piled  up  high,  like  the  one  they 
had  seen  in  the  yard  of  the  hotel,  with  boxes  and 
barrels.  At  last,  Lucy  saw  a  body  of  water  be- 
fore them,  and  a  long  bridge  ;  and,  in  a  few  minutes 
afterwards,  the  carriage  came  upon  the  bridge, 
which  made  a  great  change  in  the  sound  pro- 
duced by  the  wheels  and  the  hoofs  of  the  horses. 
Parker  drew  up  his  horses  at  a  small  building 
pretty  near  the  beginning  of  the  bridge. 

"  What  is  he  stopping  for  ? '    said  Lucy. 

"  This  is  a  toll-house,"  replied  Marielle.  "  He 
is  going  to  pay  the  toll." 

"  What  is  that  for  ?  "  said  Lucy. 

"  Why,  you  see,"  said  Marielle,  "  that  the 
people  that  built  this  monstrous,  long  bridge, 
want  some  money  to  pay  them  for  building  it , 
and  they  make  every  body  that  goes  by  pay  a 
little,  and  so,  after  a  while,  they  get  a  good  deal." 

"  Do  they  get  enough  to  pay  them  for  building 
the  bridge  ?  "  said  Lucy. 

"  Yes,  I  suppose  so,"  said  Marielle. 

"  Then,  after  that,  I  expect  they  won't  mak* 
the  people  pay  any  more,"  said  Lucy. 

"  I  don't  know,"  said  Marielle,  "  about  that, 
exactly." 

The  children  were  both  silent  after  this,  while 
they   were  riding  ove>-  the  bridge.     Thev  wer« 


44  LUC?     ON    THE     SEA-SHORE. 

looking  out,  each  on  her  own  side,  at  the  boats 
and  vessels  on  the  water,  and  at  the  carriages  and 
persons  passing  them  on  the  bridge.  At  last, 
Lucy  caught  a  glimpse  of  another  toll-house, 
which  she  knew  by  its  having  a  sign  over  it,  with 
a  great  deal  of  reading  on  it,  just  like  the  other. 

"  O,  stop,  stop,"  said  Lucy ;  "  here's  another 
toll-house  ;  and  Parker  is  driving  right  by  it  with- 
out paying." 

Marielle  looked  out,  but  they  had  gone  by. 

"  I  didn't  know  there  were  two  toll-houses  on 
the  bridge,"  said  she. 

Just  then  there  was  another  ^reat  change  in 
the  sound  of  the  wheels,  occasioned  by  their 
leaving  the  bridge,  and  coming  at  once  upon  the 
pavement.  The  pavement  was  made  of  rounded 
stones,  and  the  wheels  of  a  carriage  made  a  great 
noise  in  going  over  them,  so  that  Marielle  and 
Lucy  could  hardly  hear  each  other  speak.  Lucy 
looked  out,  however,  and  saw  that  they  had  sud 
denly  entered  a  great  maze  of  streets,  with  rows 
of  high  buildings  on  the  sides  of  them,  as  far  as 
she  could  see.  They  met  a  great  many  carnages 
and  carts  of  all  descriptions,  and  twice  the  road 
became  so  filled  up  with  them  that  Parker  had 
to  stop  and  wait  until  the  road  was  cleared  a 
little,  before  he  could  get  along.     There  was  a 


A    LO1S0    RIDE. 


45 


sidewalk,  too,  on  each  side  of  every  street,  paved 
with  bricks,  and  covered  with  people,  on  foot, 
going  and  coming.  Parker  turned  a  great  many 
corners,  and  Lucy  thought  that  iie  would  certainly 
get  lost ;  but  he  drove  on  rapidly,  as  if  he  knew 
very  well  wnere  he  was  going.  At  length,  he 
stopped  before  the  door  of  a  house  with  a  marble 
portico,  in  a  street  lined  on  each  side  with  houses 
larger  than  any  that  Lucy  had  seen. 


CHAPTER    IV. 

AUNT   MARYS 

When  che  carriage  stopped,  Lucy  looked  out 
at  the  house,  and  said,  — 

"  What  place  is  this,  Marielle  ?  " 

"  This  is  my  aunt  Mary's,"  replied  Marielle. 

"  Are  we  going  to  get  out  here  ? "  asked 
Lucy. 

It  became  unnecessary  for  Marielle  to  answer 
this  question,  for,  as  soon  as  it  was  asked,  Parker 
opened  the  door  of  the  carriage,  and  let  them  all 
get  out.  Marielle  got  out  first,  and  Parker  helped 
her  a  little  with  one  hand,  while  he  held  the  reins 
with  the  other.  It  was  not  really  necessary  for 
Parker  to  keep  the  reins,  for  the  horses  were  su 
well  trained  that  they  would  stand  perfectly  well 
without  being  held.  But,  then,  Parker  knew  that 
Lady  Jane  would  feel  safer,  if  she  saw  that  he 
kept  command  of  the  reins,  and  that  this  feeling 
of  safety  was  far  more  important  to  her  comfort 
than  any  additional  assistance  which  he  might 
render  her  with  both  hands  free. 


47 


AUNT    MARYS. 

Lucy  descended  the  steps  of  the  carriage,  and 
came  down  upon  a  broad  sidewalk  made  of  bricks, 
like  a  hearth,  with  an  edging  of  stone  between 
the  sidewalk  and  the  road.  At  a  little  distance 
from  where  she  stood,  and  near  the  outer  edge  of 
the  sidewalk,  there  was  a  tall,  slender,  black  post, 
of  a  handsome  form.  On  the  top  of  the  post  was 
a  square  lantern,  with  a  cross  bar.  The  post  was 
made  of  iron,  and  it  was  nearly  twice  as  high  as  a 
man's  head.  Lucy  looked,  and  saw  a  row  of  such 
posts  extending  along  the  street.  There  were  a 
norse  and  chaise  standing  near  the  sidewalk,  with 
a  lone:  rein  extending  from  the  horse's  bit  to  a 
weight,  which  was  lying  upon  the  sidewalk. 
Lucy  thought  that  the  row  of  houses  in  this  street 
was  very  magnificent,  with  their  long  ranges  of 
windows,  their  porticos  of  marble  before  the  doors, 
and  balconies  to  the  windows  in  the  second 
story. 

She  had  just  taken  a  glimpse  at  these  things, 
when  Lady  Jane  asked  Marielle  if  she  would  go 
and  ring  the  bell.  So  Marielle  tripped  up  the 
steps,  and  Lucy  followed  her  There  was  a 
name  in  golden  letters  on  a  plate,  like  a  little 
looking-glass,  on  the  door,  with  a  black  border 
around  it.  By  the  side  of  the  door  was  a  black 
knob,   very  smooth    and    bright.     Marielle    took 


48  LUCY    ON    TUE     SEA-SHORE. 

nokl  of  this  knob,  and  pulled  it.     Lucy  could  bear 
a  bell  ring,  away  in  the  house. 

"  Is  that  the  way  you  ring  the  bell  ?  '  said 
Lucv. 

"  Yes,"  said  Manelle  ;  "  they'll  come  presently.'* 

In  the  mean  time,  Lady  Jane  had  got  out  of 
the  carriage,  and  came  up  the  steps.  Just  then 
the  door  opened,  and  a  handsome-looking  black 
man  appeared.  He  was  very  black  indeed. 
Lucy  was  afraid  of  him  ;  but  Marielle  smiled  and 
said, — 

"  How  do  you  do,  Washington  ?  " 

"  Very  well,  Miss'  Marielle.  I  am  very  glad 
to  see  you." 

Washington  opened  the  door  for  them  all  to 
come  in.  They  were  ushered  into  a  spacious 
entry,  with  a  large  staircase  ascending  from  the 
back  part  of  it. 

The  stairs  and  the  entry  floor  were  carpeted 
with  a  very  thick  and  soft  carpet  ;  and  the  wa]Is 
were  hung  with  beautiful  pictures,  in  large  gilt 
frames.  Washington  conducted  them  through 
the  entry,  and  ushered  them  into  a  parlor,  in  the 
rear  of  the  house.  It  was  a  large  parlor,  with  a 
fireplace  in  one  end.  The  fireplace  had  pillars 
on  each  side,  of  white  marble,  and  a  mantel-piece, 
of  the  same.     There  were  several  sofas  and  rock- 


aunt  mary's.  49 

mor-chairs  in  the  room  ;  and  all  the  other  chairs 
had  cushioned  seats.  There  was  one  round  table 
in  the  middle  of  the  room,  with  a  tall  lamp  upon 
it.  There  were  several  other  tables  around  the 
room,  between  the  windows,  with  tops  of  varie 
gated  marble,  and  mirrors  under  them,  against 
the  wall.  There  was  also  one  very  large  mirror 
between  the  windows  at  the  back  side  of  the 
room.  It  was  very  wide  and  high,  and  it 
reached  almost  down  to  the  floor.  Lucy  walked 
towards  it,  and  could  see  her  whole  person  in 
it,  and  Lady  Jane  and  Marielle  beside.  She 
said  she  never  saw  such  a  large  looking-glass 
before.  The  curtains  to  the  windows  hung  in 
very  full  folds,  and  were  of  a  splendid  color. 
There  was  a  thin  curtain  under  them,  which 
Lucy  thought  was  made  of  muslin.  The  window 
at  the  farther  end  of  the  room,  on  each  side  of 
the  great  mirror,  looked  out  to  a  little  green  yard, 
lined  with  trees  and  grape-vines. 

Lucy  was  very  much  pleased  to  see  such  a 
beautiful  parlor  ;  but  she  only  had  time  to  take 
nne  general  survey  of  it,  before  Lady  Jane  re- 
quested Marielle  to  go  to  the  door  and  ask  Parker 
to  send  in  her  work-bag.  Lucy  thought  that  she 
would  fjo  with  her. 

They  went  to  the  door,  and  found  Parker  just 


-1t1  LUCY    ON    THE    SEA-SHORE. 

taking  the  last  of  the  parcels  from  the  carriage 
While  Marielle  was  waiting  for  him  to  bring  the 
work-bag,  Lucy  was  looking  at  the  prospect 
which  was  in  view  from  the  door.  There  were 
no  houses  on  the  other  side  of  the  street,  but,  in- 
stead, there  was  a  very  high  iron  fence,  painted- 
black,  with  a  picketed  top.  Beyond  the  fence 
was  a  smooth,  green  field,  with  rows  of  magnifi- 
cent trees.  They  were  elms,  and  nearly  all 
were  as  large  and  handsome  as  the  great  elm  that 
overhung  the  general's  house,  which  Lucy  had 
admired  so  much  when  she  was  among  the 
mountains.  Under  the  trees  were  broad  gravel 
walks.  While  Lucy  was  admiring  the  walks, 
and  the  trees,  and  the  great  iron  fence,  a  carriage 
drove  by,  drawn  by  a  pair  of  handsome  black 
horses,  with  two  ladies  inside,  and  a  coachman 
mounted  on  a  high  seat,  which  was  covered  with 
a  cloth,  that  hung  down  all  around,  bordered  by 
a  fringe.  She  heard  a  heavy,  rumbling  noise, 
round  a  corner  pretty  near  the  house,  as  if  some- 
thing was  coming.  She  looked  to  see  what  it 
was.  First,  a  large  and  powerful  horse  appeared, 
pulling  as  if  there  was  something  very  heavy 
behind.  He  had  a  very  strong  harness  on,  with 
a  cape  of  bear-skin  over  his  shoulders.  He  was 
followed  by  another  horse,  and  then  by  another ; 


aunt  mary's.  51 

and  finally  the  cart  which  the  horses  were  draw 
ing   appeared.     It   was  square,   and  black,  ana 
was  full  of  what  looked  to  Lucy  like  black  stones 
There  was  a  cartman  walking  along  by  the  cart 
cracking  his  whip,  and  ordering  his  horses,  in  a 
loud  voice,  which  way  to  go. 

The  horses  wheeled  round  the  corner,  and  the 
cart  stopped  immediately  at  the  house  next  to 
the  one  where  Lucy  was.  The  cartman  brought 
ihem  up  near  to  the  sidewalk,  and  then  took  out 
a  board  behind,  which  let  some  of  the  black  stones 
fall  into  the  street.  Then  he  went  to  the  front 
of  the  cart.  He  unfastened  a  chain,  and  lifted 
the  front  of  the  cart  up,  and  immediately  the 
whole  load  came  pouring  down  upon  the  pave- 
ment with  a  great,  rattling  noise.  Just  then, 
Washington  came  up  the  steps  with  his  arms  full 
of  packages,  and  Marielle  took  her  mother's 
work-bag,  and  went  in  with  it.  Lucy  had  just 
time  to  see  Parker  mount  his  seat,  and  wheel  his 
horses  round,  and  drive  away  ;  and  then  she  fol- 
lowed Marielle  back  into  the  parlor  again. 

As  they  returned  through  the  entry,  they  saw 
a  lady  coming  down  stairs.  Marielle  exclaimed, 
"  How  do  you  do,  aunt  ?  " 

"  Ah,  Marielle,"  said  her  aunt,  "  I'm  very  glad 
to  see  you.     Ana  who  is  this  little  girl  ?  " 


62  LUCY    ON    THE    SEA-SHORE. 

'•  This  is  Lucy,"  said  Marielle.  "  She  is  going 
to  the  sea-shore  with  us." 

"  The  sea-shore  !  "  said  her  aunt.  "  Are  you 
going  to  the  sea-shore?"  And  so  saying,  the 
lady  took  Lucy  by  one  hand,  and  Marielle  by  the 
other,  and  walked  along  the  entry  towards  the 
parlor  where  they  had  left  Lady  Jane.  The 
lady  seemed  very  kind  to  both  the  children  ;  but 
Lucy  thought  that  she  looked  very  sad  and  sor 
rowful.  She  was  pale,  and  there  was  an  expres- 
sion of  great  anxiety  upon  her  countenance. 

When  she  went  into  the  parlor,  she  greeted  her 
sister,  Lady  Jane,  with  great  cordiality,  and  said 
that  she  was  very  glad  that  she  had  come,  for 
little  Willie  was  very  sick. 

"  Why,  aunt !  "  said  Marielle,  with  a  look  of 
great  concern.  "  Is  he  sick  ?  I  am  very  sorry. 
How  long  has  he  been  sick  ? " 

"  O,  for  some  time,  Marielle,"  replied  her  aunt. 
"  You  and  Lucy  can't  play  with  him  at  all. 
And  you'll  be  very  still,  won't  you  ?  You'll  have 
to  amuse  yourselves,  because  I  must  take  care  of 
Willie.  The  doctor  is  here  now.  You  can  go 
into  the  library,  you  know,  and  show  Lucy  some 
pictures.     Lucy,  do  you  like  to  look  at  pictures  ? : 

Lucy  said  she  liked  pictures  very  much.  Lady 
Jane  asked  some  .nore  questions  about  little  Wil- 


AUNT    MARY  S.  53 

lie,  and  then  the  two  ladies  went  up  stairs  togeth- 
er, while  Marielle  and  Lucy  went  to  the  back 
window  to  look  at  the  little  yard  and  the  grape- 
vines in  it.  As  her  aunt  was  going  out  of  the 
door  with  her  mother,  she  turned  round  to  say,  — 

"  Marielle,  you  know  where  your  room  is,  and 
you  can  show  Lucy." 

"  Yes,  aunt,"  said  Marielle. 

So  her  aunt  and  her  mother  went  up  stairs,  and 
left  Lucy  and  Marielle  in  the  parlor.  Luc) 
looked  out  at  all  the  windows,  and  then  she 
began  to  look  at  the  pictures  hanging  up  against 
the  walls. 

'•'  Come,  Lucy,"  said  Marielle. 

"  Yes,"  said  Lucy,  "  in  a  minute.  O,  what  a 
beautiful  great  dog !  I  never  saw  such  a  large 
picture  of  a  dog." 

"  Yes,"  said  Marielle ;  "  but  come,  let's  go 
to  our  room,  and  we'll  look  at  the  pictures  by 
and  by." 

"  Yes,"  said  Lucy,  "  I'll  come." 

So  she  began  to  move  along  towards  Marielle, 
looking,  however,  at  the  pictures,  as  she  passed 
them. 

"  O,  here  is  a  pond  among  the  mountains ! 
That's  something  like  Kmcry's  Pond,"  said  Lucy. 

"  Emery's  Pond?  "  repeated  Marielle. 
5* 


54  LUCY    ON    THE     SEA-SHORE. 

"  Yes,"  said  Lucy,  "  only  the  house  don't  look 
like  Mr.  Emery's.  How  hip))  the  mountains  are ' 
We  rode  around  among  such  mountains." 

"  When  ?  "  said  Marielle. 

"  O,  when  I  went  to  the  Gap." 

"  Well,  come,"  said  Marielle. 

"  Yes,"  said  Lucy,  "  only  just  let  me  see  what 
all  these  people  are  doing  in  this  picture." 

"  No,"  said  Marielle ;  "  I  shall  go  away,  and 
then  you  can't  find  your  way  to  our  room." 

So  Marielle  walked  away,  and  began  to  ascend 
the  stairs ;  and  Lucy,  finding  that  she  was  likely 
to  be  left,  gave  up  the  pictures,  and  followed. 
Lucy  was  very  glad  that  she  had  not  been  left 
behind,  when  she  found  how  intricate  the  passage 
was  to  her  room.  They  went  up  a  flight  of 
stairs,  and  then  along  a  passage-way  which  con- 
ducted them  by  a  number  of  doors,  until  they 
came  to  one  which  Marielle  said  led  to  her  room. 
Here  they  wont  in  ;  and  they  d'd  not  come  down 
•gain  for  half  an  hour. 


55 


CHAPTER    V 

THE   L1BRARV. 

When  Marielle  and  Lucy  came*;  down  stairs, 
they  returned  into  the  parlor  again.  Lucy  looked 
at  the  pictures  a  short  time,  and  then  Marielle 
proposed  that  they  should  go  into  the  library 
She  accordingly  led  the  way  through  a  door,  near 
the  farther  end  of  the  parlor,  into  a  passage-vvay, 
which  conducted  them  to  a  smaller  room  beyond, 
which  Lucy  at  once  thought  looked  even  more 
pleasant  than  the  parlor  itself.  The  walls  were 
almost  entirely  filled  with  books,  from  the  ceiling 
down  as  low  as  the  top  of  a  table.  The  space 
below  that  was  finished  with  drawers  and  little 
doors  made  of  mahogany,  and  very  highly  pol- 
ished. There  was  a  square  table  in  the  middle 
of  the  room,  with  two  large  portable  desks  upon 
it.  The  desks  were  made  of  rose-wood,  brass 
bound,  and  inlaid  in  a  curious  manner.  The 
table  was  made  of  rose-wood  too,  having  a  flat 
border  of  rose-wood  all  around  the  edge  upon  the 
top,  and  the  rest  of  the  upper   surface   covered 


56  LUCY    ON    THK     SEA-SHORE. 

with  dark-blue  broadcloth.  There  were  several 
large  books  of  maps  and  plates  upon  the  mid  lie 
of  the  table.  There  were  a  few  small  pictures 
hangins:  about  the  room,  wherever  there  was 
space  for  them ;  and  between  the  windows  was  a 
case  of  shelves,  with  glass  doors,  containing  some 
very  splendid  apparatus,  which  Lucy  could  see 
through  the  glass.  There  were  several  very 
comfortable-looking  arm-chairs  about  the  room, 
with  spring  seats,  and  stuffed  arms  and  backs,  — ■ 
all  covered  with  morocco  of  a  purple  color. 
Lucy  took  her  seat  in  one  of  them,  saying,  — 

"  O,  what  a  beautiful  chair !  " 

As  she  sat  in  the  chair,  she  turned  her  eyes 
towards  a  little  fireplace  which  was  before  her. 
It  was  a  small  grate,  covered  with  what  Lucy 
called  a  fireboard  ;  but  Marielle  said  that  it  was  a 
blower.  Over  the  grate  was  a  mantel-piece,  of 
marble,  supported  by  two  pillars,  one  on  each 
side  of  the  grate.  There  was  a  small  clock  upon 
the  mantel-piece,  with  the  little  pendulum  swing- 
ing regularly  to  and  fro.  The  pendulum  was 
suspended  by  a  curious  system  of  bright  little 
bars,  alternately  of  brass  and  steel.  On  one  side 
of  the  clock  was  a  thermometer,  on  an  ivory  stand, 
with  a  dial  upon  the  top.  On  the  other  side 
was  what  Lucy  called  a  round  looking-glass.     It 


THE    LIBRARY.  57 

was   small,  and  mounted  on  a  little  ivory    sup 
port ;    and    it    had    an    ivory    frame    around    it. 
Lucy  jumped  up,  and  looked  into  it ;  and  she  said 
it  made  her  look  very  small,  and  very  beautiful, 
too. 

"  I  didn't  know  that  a  little  glass  would  make 
me  look  so  little,"  said  Lucy. 

"  O,  it  is  not  because  it  is  a  little  glass,"  said 
Marielle. 

"  I  don't  see  any  other  reason,"  said  Lucy. 
"  It  makes  me  look  very  little  indeed." 

"  But  it  can't  be  because  it  is  a  little  glass,"  said 
Marielle ;  "  for  then  a  big  glass  would  make  you 
look  very  big.  And  don't  you  know  that  you 
don't  look  any  bigger  than  you  are  in  the  great 
glass  out  in  the  parlor  ?  " 

Lucy  was  just  going  out  to  look  at  herself 
again  in  the  great  glass  in  the  parlor,  when  a  dooi 
opened,  and  Lady  Jane  came  in.  It  was  not  the 
same  door  that  they  had  come  in  at,  —  that  is,  the 
one  leading  from  the  parlor,  —  but  another,  not  far 
from  the  fireplace.  Lady  Jane  opened  the  door 
softly,  and  shut  it  again  softly. 

"  O  mother,"  said  Marielle,  "  have  you  been 
up  to  see  Willie  ?  " 

"  Yes,"  said  Lady  Jane. 

"  And  how  does  he  do  ?  "  asked  Marielle 


58  LUCY    ON    THE    SEA-SHORE. 

"  He's  better,"  said  her  mother.  "  The  doctor 
has  been  here,  and  he  says  he's  better." 

"  We  want  to  go  up  and  see  him,"  said 
Marielle. 

"  No,"  said  her  mother,  "  you  must  not  go  and 
see  him.  We  want  to  keep  him  perfectly  quiet 
and  still.  We're  going  to  have  your  tea  sent  in 
here,  and  you  must  stay  here,  and  amuse  your- 
selves as  well  as  you  can.  I'm  going  to  be  up 
stairs  with  sister  Mary." 

"  But,  mother,"  said  Marielle,  "  I  want  to  carry 
Willie  his  apple." 

Marielle  had  brought  a  large,  rosy  apple  as  a 
present  for  Willie.  It  had  grown  in  her  garden, 
and  was  of  a  very  early  kind,  that  ripened  before 
any  of  the  other  apples  in  the  garden. 

But  her  mother  told  her  that  Willie  was  not 
well  enough  to  eat  an  apple.  She  said,  however, 
that  perhaps  he  would  be  well  enough,  the  next 
day,  to  have  it  to  play  with,  but  that  Marielle 
could  not  give  it  to  him  that  evening.  So,  char- 
ging Marielle  and  Lucy  not  to  make  any  noise,  or 
to  do  any  mischief,  she  left  them,  and  went  up 
stairs  again. 

As  soon  as  her  mother  was  gone,  Marielle 
said,  — 

"  Now,  Lucy,  we're  going  to  have  the  library 


THE    LTBRABT.  59 

all  to  ourselves,  and  we  will  have  a  gcod  time,  1 
;an  assure  you.  Washington  will  bring  us  up 
some  tea  by  and  by.  Then  I  will  be  the  lady  of 
tne  house,  and  we  will  play  that  you  are  my 
company.  And  now  what  shall  we  do  before  tea- 
time  comes  ?  I  can  show  you  some  pictures,  or 
some  curiosities." 

"  Curiosities  ?  "  repeated  Lucy  ;  "  what  kind  of 
curiosities  ?  " 

"  O,  various  kinds,"  said  Marielle  ;  "  they  are 
in  these  drawers." 

So  saying,  Marielle  went  to  the  side  of  the 
room,  to  a  place  where  there  were  drawers  under 
the  books,  and  began  to  open  them.  They  were 
full  of  shells  and  curiosities  of  various  kinds. 
The  drawers  were  divided  inside  by  small  parti- 
tions. Some  of  them  were  square,  and  filled 
with  little  shells.  In  the  other  drawers,  the  parti- 
tions were  larger,  and  the  shells  large,  and  beau- 
fully  mottled,  and  polished  like  glass.  Marielle 
took  some  of  them  up,  one  by  one,  and  showed 
them  to  Lucy.  There  was  one  in  a  front  corner 
of  one  of  the  drawers,  which  Marielle  said  they 
must  not  take  up,  for  it  was  very  delicate,  and  it 
would  break  it  to  handle  it.  Lucy  looked  at  it, 
however,  very   attentively.     It    was    white,    and 


60  LUCY    ON    THE    SEA- SHORE. 

thin,  and  of  a  beautiful  form ;  and  the  partition 
which  it  was  lying  in  was  lined  with  cotton,  so  as 
to  give  it  a  soft  bed. 

Presently  Marielle  opened  another  drawer,  and 
showed  Lucy  some  minerals.  Some  were  beauti- 
ful crystals,  single  and  in  groups,  just  as  they  were 
formed,  with  their  natural  surface  smooth  and 
brilliant  like  cut  glass.  There  were  also  speci- 
mens of  marbles,  and  spars,  and  agates,  with  one 
side  rough  and  worn,  and  the  other  polished,  so 
as  to  show  all  the  beautiful  colors,  and  reflect  the 
light,  like  a  mirror.  Lucy  admired  them  very 
much  ;  and,  while  she  was  looking  at  one  which 
had  waving  lines  in  it,  which  Lucy  said  looked 
almost  like  a  picture,  Marielle  suddenly  said,  — 

"  O,  that  makes  me  think  of  the  mosaic.  1 
must  show  you  the  mosaic." 

So  saying,  Marielle  shut  the  drawer  which 
they  had  been  looking  at,  and  went  across  the 
room  to  the  glass  case  where  the  apparatus  wa° 
kept.  Underneath  this  case  there  were  severa, 
small  drawers.  Marielle  opened  one,  and  took  out 
a  picture.  It  was  a  picture  of  a  burning  mountain. 
There  were  some  rocks  and  lighthouses  in  the 
foreground,  that  is,  in  the  front  part  of  the  pK 
ture.     Beyond  the  rocks  was  a  sea,  and  beyoni 


THE    LIBRARY.  1)1 

the  sea  some  land,  with  a  great  mountain  rising 
from  it.  The  mountain  was  a  volcano,  throwing 
up  stones  and  fire. 

'•  Let  me  take  it,"  said  Lucy. 

Marielle  gave  the  picture  to  Lucy,  telling  her  to 
hold  it  very  carefully,  for  she  said  it  was  very 
neavv 

Lucy  took  it  into  her  hand,  and  immediately 
exclaimed,  — 

"  O,  what  a  heavy  picture !  What  makes  it  so 
heavy  ?" 

"  It  is  a  mosaic,"  said  Marielle. 

"  A  mosaic  ?  "  repeated  Lucy. 

"  Yes,"  replied  Marielle ;  "  it  is  made  of 
stones." 

"  I  never  saw  a  stone  picture  before,"  said 
Lucy.  "  I  did  not  know  that  they  could  pain* 
pictures  on   stones." 

"  O,  it  isn't  painted  on  the  stone,"  said  Mari- 
elle. "  The  picture  is  made  of  different  colored 
stones,  let  in,  some  how  or  other.  There,  look  at 
that  ship  sailing  along.  The  sails  are  made  of 
white  stone,  cut  out  and  put  in  just  in  the  right 
place.  And  so  the  mountain  and  the  lighthouse 
are  made  of  different  colored  stones." 

Lucy  looked  at  the  mosaic   very  attentively; 
6 


62 


LUCY    ON    THE    SEA-SHCRE. 


but  sne  could  hardly  believe  that  it  was  as  Mari- 

ellc  said. 

"  I  don't  see  how  they  can  make  it  so,"  said 
she. 

"  Nor  I,"  said  Marielle  ;  "  but  they  do,  I  know. 
They  made  it  in  Italy.  My  uncle  got  it  there. 
He  says  he  has  seen  that  very  mountain." 

The  children  presently  put  the  mosaic  away, 
and,  after  looking  at  the  curiosities  in  the  drawers 
a  short  time  longer,  they  concluded  to  sit  up  to  tin 
table,  and  look  at  some  pictures.  Marielle  said 
she  knew  where  there  was  a  book  with  some 
beautiful  pictures  in  it.  So  she  and  Lucy  took 
hold  of  a  very  large  arm-chair,  large  enough  to 
hold  them  both,  and  began  to  push  it  along  up  to 
the  table.  There  were  little  brass  wheels  at  the 
bottom  of  each  of  the  legs  of  the  chair,  so  that 
they  could  trundle  it  along  very  easily. 

They  got  down  the  book,  too,  and  began  to 
look  at  the  pictures ;  but  they  found  that  it  was 
growing  dark,  and  Marielle  said  that  she  had  a 
great  mind  to  ring  for  a  light.  But  Lucy  told 
her  that  she  had  better  not,  for  it  might  trouble 
Washington  to  have  to  come  on  purpose  to  bring 
them  a  light,  and  that,  pretty  soon,  she  thought 
that  he  would  come  with  their  tea.  And  Lucy 
in  fact,  was  right.      Washington  came  in  a  few 


THE    LIBRARY.  6d 

minutes,  bringing  in  a  large  lamp  with  two 
branches.  Each  branch  had  a  shade  of  ground 
glass  over  the  flame  of  the  lamp,  so  that  it  lighted 
the  table  and  the  room  very  pleasantly,  and  yet 
did  not  dazzle  their  eyes.  He  set  this  lamp  upon 
the  middle  of  the  table. 

"  Are  you  going  to  bring  us  our  tea  pretty  soon, 
Washington  ?  "  said  Marielle. 

"  Coming  right  up  with  it,  Miss  Marielle,"  said 
Washington. 

So  Washington  went  out  of  the  room,  and 
pretty  soon  returned  with  a  small  table  jus* 
large  enough  for  a  tea-table  for  Marielle  and 
Lucy.  He  set  this  in  a  place  where  there  was 
room  for  it,  between  the  great  study-table  and  the 
window.  It  was  so  near  the  great  table,  that  the 
lamp  shone  upon  it,  and  lighted  it  very  well.  He 
then  brought  a  small  table-cloth  and  put  over  it. 
Then  he  went  away  again. 

In  a  short  time,  he  returned  with  a  large  tray 
containing  all  things  necessary  for  the  tea-table 
There  was  a  little  waiter  with  two  tea-pots  upon 
it,  and  also  a  creamer  and  a  sugar-bowl.  These 
were  all  of  silver.  There  were  also  two  cups 
and  saucers  ;  and  two  plates,  with  a  knife  and  fork 
for  each ;  and  a  dish  with  a  cover  upon  it,  so  that 
Lucy  could  not  see  what  was  in  it.     Washington 


64  LUCY    ON    THE    SEA-SHORE. 

arranged  all  these  things  in  order  upon  the  table, 
and  then  went  out,  saying  that  he  was  going  tc 
get  some  chairs.  In  a  moment  he  returned,  bring- 
ing in  some  chairs,  which  were  lighter  and  more 
suitable  for  a  tea-table  than  the  great  elbow-chairs 
which  belonged  in  the  library.  He  placed  one  at 
each  end  of  the  table,  and  then  turned  to  Marielle, 
and  said, — 

"  Will  you  ring,  Miss  Marielle,  if  you  want 
any  thing  ?  " 

"  Yes,"  said  Marielle,  "  we'll  ring." 

So  Washington  went  away. 

Marielle  and  Lucy  then  went  to  their  seats  at 
tne  table.  Marielle  took  her  place  by  the  little 
waiter ;  for  she  told  Lucy  that  it  would  be  best 
for  her  to  pour  out  the  tea.  While  she  was  pour- 
ing it  out,  she  asked  Lucy  to  lift  off  that  cover, 
and  see  what  Washington  had  got  for  them  to  eat. 
Lucy  did  so,  and  found  that  it  was  a  plate  of  hot 
muffins.  Muffins  are  round  cakes,  very  tender 
and  good. 

"  I'm  glad  that  we  came  here,"  said  Lucy, 
"  instead  of  going  directly  to  the  sea-shore.  J 
think  this  is  a  very  pleasant  place." 

"  Yes,"  said  Marielle  ;  "  I  like  to  come  to  my 
aunt's  very  much,  —  especially  when  my  uncle 
is  at  home." 


THE    LIBRARY.  65 

"  Isn't  he  at  home  now  ?  "  said  Lucy. 

"  No,"  said  Marielle ;  "  he  has  gone  away 
somewhere,  but  I  don't  know  where )  he's  very 
often  away." 

"  When  are  we  going  to  the  sea-shore  ?  "  said 
Lucy. 

"  I  don't  know,"  replied  Marielle.  "  We  were 
going  to  stay  here  one  day  for  Parker  to  go  ar-d 
engage  us  a  place.  But,  now  little  Willie  is  sick, 
[  don't  know  but  that  we  shall  stay  here  longer 
Aunt  won't  want  mother  to  go  away,  I  know, 
now  Willie  is  so  sick,  —  and  uncle  uway  from 
home,  too." 

"  Well,"  said  Lucy,  "  I  should  like  to  stay  here 
to-morrow,  very  much,  and  longer  too." 

So  Marielle  and  Lucy  talked  and  ate  their 
supper  together  very  happily. 

After  they  had  finished  their  supper,  Marielle 
said  that  she  would  ring  the  bell  for  Washington 
to  come  ;  but  Lucy  said,  "  Let  me  ring  it."  So 
Marielle  showed  her  where  a  green  cord  was 
han^-no-.  with  a  large  golden-looking  ring  at  the 
end  of  it ;  and  she  told  her  that,  if  she  pulled  that, 
it  would  ring  the  bell,  so  that  Washington  could 
hear.  Lucy,  therefore,  went  and  pulled  the  cord, 
out  she  did  not  hear  any  bell  ring. 
6* 


GO 


LUCY    UN    THE    SEA-sIii/ftL. 


However,  in  a  few  minutes,  Washington  came 
in  with  his  great  tray  in  his  hand. 

"  Was  the  supper  agreeable,  Miss  Mariehe  ? ' 
said  Washington,  very  respectfully,  to  Marielle* 
for  Washington  was  always  very  polite. 

"Yes,"   said  Marielle,    "only   I    don't   think 
they  meant  to  have  us  hurt  ourselves  with  the 


tea." 

"  Why  not?  "  said  Washington. 

"  Why,  it  was  so  weak.  I  couldn't  tell,  at  first, 
which  was  the  water-pot." 

A  faint  semblance  of  a  smile  appeared  for  a 
moment  on  Washington's  countenance  as  he  re- 
plied, — 

"  Yes,  —  Lady  Jane  directed  about  the  tea 
Miss  Marielle." 

So  saying,  Washington  carried  the  tea  thing? 
end  the  table,  and  the  chairs,  all  away. 


CHAPTER    VI. 

THE    SEA-SHORE. 

The  next  morning,  Marielle  and  Lucy  went 
out  to  take  a  walk  about  the  city.  They  had  a 
very  pleasant  walk  indeed.  Marielle  showed 
Lucy  a  great  many  very  curious  things  in  the  shop 
windows.  They  came  home  about  eleven  o'clock. 
They  found  that  Willie  was  getting  better,  and 
Marielle  told  Lucy  that  Parker  had  gone  to  make 
arrangements  for  them  at  some  place  on  the  sea- 
shore, and  that,  if  he  came  back  in  season,  and 
if  her  uncle  got  home  that  afternoon,  as  he  was 
expected,  and  if  Willie  continued  to  be  better, 
they  were  going  to  the  sea-shore  towards  evening 
of  that  day.  Marielle  said  all  this  when  she  came 
down  from  her  mother's  room  up  stairs,  into  the 
library,  where  she  had  left  Lucy. 

"  And  mother  says,"  she  continued,  "  that  she 
thinks  it  would  be  a  good  plan  for  you  to  write 
a  letter  home  to  somebody  there,  and  tell  them 
wmething  about  your  journey." 


££  LUCY    ON    TFT     SEA-SHORL. 

"  O,  but  I  don't  know  how  to  write,"  said 
Lucy.  "  I  can  print  a  little.  I  can  make  an  O  ; 
but  I  can't  write  well  enough  to  write  a  letter.'' 

"But  she  doe?  not  mean  f<r  you  to  write  it 
yourself,"  said  Marielle.  "  She  means  for  me  to 
write  for  you,  while  you  tell  me  what  to  say." 

"  Well,"  said  Lucy,  "  I  will.  I'll  write  a  letter 
to  Royal." 

So  Marielle  opened  a  drawer,  where  she  knew 
that  paper  and  pens  were  alw?ys  kept,  and  she 
took  out  a  sheet  of  paper  and  a  pen,  and  car- 
ried them  to  one  of  the  desks  upon  the  table. 
Then  she  drew  up  one  of  the  great  chairs,  and 
sat  in  it. 

The  chair  was  not  high  enough.  She,  how- 
ever, soon  remedied  the  difficulty  by  going  into  the 
parlor,  and  bringing  a  large  cushion,  pretty  thick, 
which  she  put  into  the  great  chair,  and  that  raised 
.he  seat  so  that  it  answered  very  well.  Lucy  sat 
in  another  great  chair,  and  began  to  dictate  to  her 
amanuensis  as  follows  :  — 

"  First,  you  must  write  '  Dear  Royal '  upon  the 
top,"  said  Lucy. 

Marielle  began  to  write ;  and  presently  she  said 
that  she  had  done  it. 

"We  haven't  got  to  the  sea-shore  yet,"  said 
Lucy,  dictating 


THE    SEA-SHORE.  69 

Marielle  wrote  it,  and  then  said,  "  Well,  what 
next  ?  " 

"  But  it  is  very  pleasant  in  this  library,"  said 
Lucy.  "  Would  you  tell  him  about  our  taking 
tea  all  by  ourselves,  Marielle  ? " 

"  Yes,"  said  Marelle,  "if  you  think  he  would 
like  to  hear  about  it." 

"  O,  the  mosaic  !  "  said  Lucy.  "  I'll  tell  him 
about  the  mosaic.  But  he  won't  know  what  a 
mosaic  is,"  she  added. 

"  But  you  must  explain  it  to  him,"  said  Ma- 
rielle.    "  I  will  write  whatever  you  say." 

So  Lucy,  after  a  moment's  thought,  gave  Ma- 
rielle something  more  to  say  ;  and  thus  they  went 
on  for  about  half  an  hour.  At  the  end  of  that 
time,  Lucy  said  she  was  tired,  and  that  she 
wanted  Marielle  to  read  the  letter  to  her.  So 
Marielle  read  as  follows  :  — 

"  Dear  Royal  : 

"  We  haven't  got  to  the  sea-shore  yet.  But 
it  is  very  pleasant  in  this  library.  There  is  a 
burning  mountain  here,  made  of  stone.  They 
keep  it  in  a  drawer.  There  is  a  ship,  and  the 
sails  are  made  of  stone.  It  is  sailing  alono  in  the 
water.  The  shells  are  very  pretty,  too.  I'm 
going  to  get  some  just  like  them  for  you,  if  I  can 


70  LUCY    ON    THE    SEA-SHORE. 

find  any  on  the  beach.  Willie  is  sick,  so  that  he 
can't  have  his  apple.  Marielle  brought  him  an 
apple.  Willie  is  better  now.  We  had  a  very 
good  ride,  only  Marielle  got  asleep ;  and  so  did 
I,  almost.  We  came  over  a  very  long  bridge. 
There  were  two  toll-houses.  One  was  to  pay 
for  one  end  of  the  bridge,  and  the  other  for  the 
other. 

"  Your  affectionate  sister, 

"  Lucy." 

Marielle  said  that  she  thought  it  was  a  very 
good  letter  ;  and  she  said  that  she  would  go  and 
read  it  to  her  mother,  and  then  seal  it  up,  and 
get  Washington  to  carry  it  to  the  post-office. 

So  Marielle  went  up  stairs  to  find  her  mother 
Lady  Jane  said  that  it  was  a  very  good  letter , 
but  she  did  not  give  it  back  to  Marielle  to  seal 
and  send,  as  she  had  proposed.  She  said  that 
she  wanted  to  add  a  line  to  Lucy's  mother  her- 
self, and  that  she  would  see  that  it  was  sealed 
and  forwarded. 

After  dinner,  Marielle's  aunt  appeared  much 
more  cheerful  and  happy  than  she  had  done  the 
day  before ;  for  Willie  was  much  better,  though 
he  was  still  very  feeble.  She  said  that  the  chil- 
dren might  go  up  and  see  him  a  few  minutes  aftei 


THE    SEA-SHORE.  71 

dinner.  Marielle  asked  if  she  might  cany  him 
ap  his  apple ;  and  her  aunt  said  yes,  and  that  he 
should  have  it  roasted,  and  eat  it  afterwards. 
She  asked  the  doctor,  she  said,  and  he  told  her 
that  a.  little  roasted  apple  would  do  him  good 
So  she  was  very  glad  that  Marielle  had  brough' 
the  aj.ple. 

About  half  an  hour  after  dinner,  a  little  girl, 
namea  Sarah,  came  into  the  library  where  Marielle 
and  Lucy  were  sitting,  and  told  Marielle  that  her 
aunt  was  ready  to  have  her  go  up  and  see  Willie. 

"  Well,"  said  Marielle,  "  and  will  you  show  us 
the  way  ?  " 

Sarah  said  that  she  would;  and  so  Marielle 
and  Lucy  followed  her.  She  led  them  up  stairs, 
and  thence  along  a  passage-way  to  a  different 
part  of  the  house  from  that  where  their  chamber 
was ;  and  presently  she  stopped  at  a  door,  and 
tapped  gently.  In  a  moment,  the  door  opened : 
Lady  Jane  appeared  within,  and  asked  the  chil- 
dren to  walk  in.  Marielle  and  Lucy  walked  in 
on  tiptoe. 

There  was  a  bed  in  the  room,  with  curtains 
over  it.  Before  the  bed  was  a  crib,  not  quite  so 
high  as  the  bed,  and  it  had  rockers  upon  it,  so 
that  it  could  be  rocked  like  a  cradle.  Willie  was 
no\  in  his  crib,  however.     He  was  sitting  in  hia 


72  LUCY    ON    THE    SJEA-SHORE. 

nurse's  lap,  with  his  head  leaning  against  hei 
shoulder.  He  looked  very  pale  and  wasted ;  bu» 
his  eye  was  very  bright,  and  blue,  and  he  looked 
earnestly  at  Marielle  and   Lucy  as  they  came  in 

He  was  just  old  enough  to  talk  a  little,  but  he 
did  not  say  any  thing. 

"  Willie,"  said  Marielle,  "  here's  an  apple  for 
you." 

Willie  looked  at  the  apple  languidly  a  moment, 
and  then  reached  out  his  little  hand  to  take  it. 
His  fingers  were  very  thin  and  slender.  He 
could  not  hold  the  apple  with  them  very  well. 

"  Til  put  it  on  the  table  for  you,  Willie,"  said 
Marielle,  "  and  then  you  shall  have  it  roasted  by 
and  by." 

So  she  took  the  apple  again,  which  Willie  gave 
up  without  any  objection,  and  put  it  on  a  little 
table  which  was  near.  Willie  followed  it  with 
his  eyes  all  the  time.  Then  Marielle  came  back, 
and  said,  — 

"  Shouldn't  vou  like  to  come  and  see  me  a 
little  while,  Willie  ?  I'll  hold  you  very  care- 
fully." 

"  No,"  said  Marielle's  aunt,  who  was  sitting 
upon  a  sofa,  between  the  windows.  "  I  think 
you  had  better  not  take  him,  Marielle  *  he's  toe 
heavy  for  you  " 


1.    ""     SEA-SHORE.  75 

•'  O,  do  let  me  take  him  a  minute,  aunt,  if  he 
will  come,"  said  Marielle. 

Willie  recollected  Marielle  very  well,  for  she 
had  often  been  at  the  house,  and  had  played  with 
him  a  great  deal.  So  he  held  out  his  little  hands 
to  her,  and,  as  his  mother  did  not  make  any  more 
oojection,  Marielle  took  him,  and  began  to  carry 
him  towards  the  sofa.  Willie  could  not  hold  up 
his  head.  His  little  neck  was  very  weak  and 
slender,  and  he  laid  his  head  down  on  Marielle's 
shoulder. 

"  I'll  take  a  walk  with  you,  Willie,"  said  Mari- 
elle. And  so,  instead  of  sitting  down  upon  the 
sofa,  as  she  had  intended,  she  began  to  walk 
slowly  back  and  forth  across  the  room  with  him. 
But  he  was  a  very  heavy  load  for  her,  for  Mari- 
elle was  not  very  strong.  At  last  her  aunt  said 
that  she  must  not  try  to  carry  him  any  longer, 
and  so  Marielle  turned  to  go  back  with  him  to  his 
nurse. 

"  Put  me  in  my  crib,"  said  Willie. 

Marielle  went  towards  his  crib,  but  she  was 
not  strong  enough  to  put  him  in.  The  nurse 
came  and  helped  her.  Together  they  lifted  him 
to  his  place,  and  he  laid  his  head  upon  his  pillow. 

"  Do  you  feel  any  better,  Willie  ? "  said  Lucv, 
in  a  very  gentle  tone. 


76  LUC\     ON    THE    SEA-SHORE. 

But  Willie  did  not  answer ;  he  turned  his  bead 
away,  and  shut  his  eyes,  making  only  a  moaning 
sound,  which  indicated  that  he  did  not  wish  to  be 
disturbed. 

Lady  Jane  then  told  the  children  he  was  toe 
feeble  to  see  company  any  longer ;  and  so  Mari- 
elle  and  Lucy  went  softly  out  of  the  room. 

"  Poor  little  Willie !  "  said  Marielle,  as  they 
were  going  down  stairs  ;  "  he  looks  rather  sick." 

"  Yes,"  said  Lucy,  "  he  looks  very  sick.  I 
think  he  is  very  sick  indeed." 

"  No,"  replied  Marielle,  "  he  is  not  very  sick 
indeed,  now.  The  doctor  told  aunt  Mary  to-day 
that  he  was  a  great  deal  better,  only  that  he  is 
weak  ,  and  so  1  think  my  mother  will  go  to  the 
sea-shore  this  afternoon,  if  Parker  comes  back, 
and  has  found  us  a  place." 

Parker  did  come  back ;  and  he  had  found  them 
a  place,  which,  he  said,  he  thought  would  an- 
swer very  well,  about  fifteen  miles  from  the  city 
Marielle's  uncle  came  home,  too,  about  the  mid- 
dle of  the  afternoon.  When  he  found  that  Lady 
Jane  was  going  to  the  sea-shore,  he  insisted  upon 
going  with  her,  to  see  her  comfortably  established. 
But  Lady  Jane  would  not  allow  it. 

"  We  shall  do  very  well,"  said  she.  "  Parkei 
always  takes  excellent  care  of  us.     When  Willie 


THE     SI  A-SHORE.  77 


gels    a  little  better,  you  may   come   down,  and 


B 


bring  him  and  sister,  and  leave  them  there  with 
us  a  few  days,  if  you  please,  and  then  I  will 
brins:  them  home." 

They  all  thought  that  this  would  be  an  excel- 
lent plan  ;  and  it  was  agreed,  if  Willie  con- 
tinued to  improve,  that  in  the  course  of  a  week, 
perhaps,  they  would  come.  So  they  concluded 
to  take  an  early  tea,  and  Lady  Jane  directed 
Parker  to  have  the  carriage  and  horses  at  the 
door  at  six  o'clock.  By  this  plan  they  thought 
that  they  could  get  to  the  place  where  they  were 
going,  before  sunset. 

It  was  very  pleasant  riding  at  six  o'clock,  lor 
the  day  had  been  quite  warm,  but  now  it  began 
to  be  cool.  Parker  drove  through  a  great  many 
streets,  turning  corner  after  corner,  until  Lucy 
wondered  how  he  could  find  his  way.  At  length, 
however,  they  began  gradually  to  emerge  from 
the  city.  Soon  afterwards,  as  they  were  ascend- 
ing a  hill,  Lucy  found  that  there  was  a  fine  view 
of  the  sea  from  the  window  of  the  carriage.  It 
looked  calm  and  beautiful.  There  were  islands 
of  various  forms,  some  covered  with  trees,  and 
some  with  sides  descending  to  the  water  in  long, 
green  slopes,  or  else  falling  off  suddenly  in  pre- 
cipitate banks ;  and  Lucy  saw  a  great,  number  of 

i 


78  LUCY    ON    THE     SEA-SHORE. 

ships  in  the  offing.  There  was  one  whicn  wai 
sailing  between  the  islands,  which  Lucy  pointed 
out  to  Marielle,  and  said  that  it  was  exactly  like 
the  vessel  sailing  in  the  mosaic. 

They  found  that,  the  farther  they  receded  from 
the  city,  the  more  open  the  country  became  ;  and 
Lucy  and  Marielle  had  many  a  fine  prospect 
from  the  windows  of  the  carnage,  sometimes  to- 
wards the  land,  and  sometimes  towards  the 
sea.  At  length,  they  turned  off  somewhat  from 
the  main  road,  by  a  way  which  seemed  less 
irequented,  and  which  appeared  to  incline  moi 
towards  the  shore.  The  road  soon  became  wilr. 
and  romantic.  Sometimes  it  led  through  the 
woods  ascending  a  hill.  Then,  at  the  top  of  the 
hill,  an  extended  view  of  the  sea  would  suddenly 
appear  before  them.  Then  they  would  descend 
the  hill,  and  ride  for  a  short  distance  close  to  the 
beach  at  the  head  of  a  little  bay  ;  thence  along 
under  some  steep,  rocky  cliffs  ;  and,  at  the  end  of 
the  cliffs,  the  road  ascended  a  short  hill,  and 
plunged  into  the  woods  again,  where  no  signs  of 
the  sea  could  be  seen  ;  only  they  could  hear  the 
distant  roar  of  the  surf  upon  the  rocks  and 
promontories. 

At  last,  they  passed  round  the  head  of  a  bav 
filled  w'th  islands,  and   lined   vvith  a  white    ;and\ 


THE  SEA-SHORE.  79 

beach.  The  ba}~  was  bounded  b}-  two  rocky 
points,  which  extended  far  out  into  the  water, 
the  extremities  of  the  points  being  whitened  with 
the  tumbling  breakers.  The}*  followed  the  shore 
of  this  ba}T  a  short  distance,  and  then  turned  into 
a  road  that  led  into  a  little  dell  which  made  up 
from  the  shore  ;  and  there  the  carriage  stopped  at 
a  white  house  with  a  little  yard  and  o-arden  at  the 
side  of  it,  and  a  grove  of  trees  sheltering  it  be- 
hind. In  a  word,  Lucy  had  fairly  arrived  at  the 
sea-shore. 


80 


CHAPTER    VII 

WALKS   AND  RIDES 

The  house  which  Parker  had  found  for  them 
was  a  very  pleasant  one  indeed.  There  was  a 
little  parlor  below,  and  two  chambers  above  stairs, 
which  Lady  Jane  and  the  children  had  to  them- 
selves. One  chamber  was  for  Lady  Jane,  and 
the  other  was  for  Marielle  and  Lucy. 

At  tea-time  that  evening,  Lady  Jane  told  Ma- 
rielle and  Lucy  that  they  must  confine  themselves 
to  their  room  two  hours  every  forenoon,  engaged 
in  any  literal y  occupations  they  pleased,  and  that 
at  other  times  they  might  go  out  and  amuse  them- 
selves in  rambling  around,  within  such  limits  as 
Parker  should  point  out.  She  said  that  she  could 
not  go  out  with  them  a  great  deal  herself.  In 
fact,  Marielle  knew  very  well  that  her  morhe: 
would  not  be  out  with  them  a  great  deal,  as  her 
health  was  feeble,  and  she  was  generally  much 
confined  in  the  house.  Lucy  did  not  understand 
exactly  what  she  meant  by  literary  occupations, 
but  she  thought  she  would  wait  and  ask  Marielle 


WALKS    AND    RIDES.  81 

some  time.  She  did  ask  her  that  night,  after  they 
had  gone  to  bed. 

"  O,  she  means  that  we  may  read,  or  write,  o: 
draw,"  said  Marielle,  "or  do  any  thing  whatever 
that  will  be  improving  to  us.  That's  al way- 
mother's  rule  when  I'm  aw  ay  from  home.  She 
says  it  is  not  a  good  plan  for  girls  to  play  all  day 
long." 

Lucy  was  very  sorry  to  hear  of  this  rule.  She 
had  imagined  that  she  could  play  upon  the  beach 
and  among  the  rocks  from  morning  to  night,  when 
she  got  upon  the  sea-shore.  However,  Marielle 
said  that  she  would  teach  her  to  draw  ;  and  this 
proposition,  in  some  measure,  reconciled  Lucy  to 
the  plan  of  being  shut  up  in  her  room  two  hours 
every  day.  When  this  arrangement  had  been 
made,  the  children  bade  each  other  good  night, 
and  went  to  sleep,  agreeing  to  get  up  early  in  the 
morning,  and  go  out  and  take  a  walk  before 
breakfast. 

Accordingly,  the  next  morning,  a  little  aftei 
sunrise,  they  came  out  at  the  front  door  of  the 
house  together.  The  house,  as  was  stated  in  the 
last  chapter,  was  in  a  little  sheltered  valley,  or 
rather  dell,  which  opened  from  the  shore  of  the 
bay  ;  and  the  road,  therefore,  which  passed  in 
front  of  the  house,  led,  in  one  direction,  down  to 


R2  LUCY    ON    THE    SEA-SHORE. 

the  shore  of  the  bay,  and,  in  tne  other  direction, 
farther  into  the  valley.  They  saw  that  this  road, 
which  led  back  from  the  sea,  after  passing  up  the 
valley  a  little  way,  began  to  ascend  a  hill ;  and 
Marielle  thought  that,  if  they  went  up  that  road, 
they  should  find  a  beautiful  prospect.  On  the 
other  hand,  if  they  went  down  the  road,  to  the 
shore  of  the  sea,  they  could  play  on  the  beach 
They  were  somewhat  in  doubt  what  to  do.  Ma- 
rielle was  rather  inclined  to  think  it  would  be 
best  to  go  up  the  road,  to  see  the  prospect  from 
the  hill. 

'•'  But,  Marielle,"  said  Lucy,  "  I  think  we  had 
better  go  down  to  the  shore.  I  have  been  on 
hills  a  great  many  times,  and  I  never  went  on 
a  shore.  And,  besides,  I  want  to  find  some  shells 
for  Royal." 

"  Yes,  but,  Lucy,"  replied  Marielle,  "  we  don't 
know  yet  where  it  is  safe  for  us  to  go  on  the 
shore.  Parker  is  coming:,  after  breakfast,  to  show 
us  where  it  is  safe  ;  and  we  might  get  into  some 
difficulty  if  we  go  there  first.  But  we  can  go  up 
on  the  hill,  and  that  will  certainly  be  safe.  And 
then,  besides,  when  we  are  there,  we  can  see  the 
shores  all  around,  and  choose  pleasant  places  for 
our  walks.  We  can  see  the  islands,  and  the 
horizon,  and  ships  in  the  offing." 


WALKS    AND    RIDES.  Hi) 

"  Well,"  said  Lucy,  "  then  I'll  go  up  on  the 

hill." 

They  accordingly  turned  away  from  the  direc- 
tion which  led  towards  the  shore,  and  walked 
along  up  the  dell.  Presently  the  road  began  to 
ascend  a  hill,  and,  after  walking  about  half  a  mile, 
they  came  to  the  top  of  it.  The  prospect  was 
very  magnificent  indeed.  They  found  that  the 
land  which  they  were  upon,  was  only  a  narrow 
•iape,  extending  down  into  the  sea,  with  a  bay  on 
each  side  of  it ;  so  that,  in  leaving  the  house,  and 
coming  up  the  dell,  although  they  were  leaving 
the  sea  on  one  side,  yet  they  we»*  going  towards 
it  on  the  other ;  for  as  soon  as  they  reached  the 
summit,  by  going  on  down  the  other  side,  they 
would  come  to  the  beach  again.  Between  these 
two  bays  the  point  of  land  extended  out  nearly 
a  mile,  with  a  rocky  island  upon  the  end  of  it. 
There  was  a  lighthouse  upon  this  island.  They 
could  also  see  a  great  many  islands  scattered  about 
in  the  two  bays,  and  along  the  coast,  —  their 
shores  whitened  with  the  foam  of  the  waves  roll- 
ing against  them.  The  water  was  very  smooth, 
however,  at  a  little  distance  from  the  shore.  Lucy 
wondered  why  it  beat  so  restlessly  against  the 
rocks,  and  rolled  up  in  foam  upon  the  beache?5 
when    it   seemed    perfectly    smooth    out   at   sea. 


84 


LUCY    ON    THE    SEA-SHORE 


Lucy  admired  the  smooth  and  beautiful  line  of 
the  horizon,  with  little  white  specks  here  and 
there,  which  Marielle  told  her  were  the  sails  of 
distant  vessels. 

Lucy  was  very  much  interested  in  the  light- 
house, too.  It  was  a  tall,  white  building,  with 
windows  all  around  in  the  top.  Marielle  said 
that    the    windows    were    to    let    the    lidit  shine 

O 

through.  There  was  a  small  house  at  the  foot  of 
the  lighthouse,  where  Marielle  said  she  supposed 
the  man  lived  who  had  the  care  of  it.  The  island 
on  which  these  buildings  were  situated,  was  very 
rough  and  rocky,  with  precipices  on  the  sides, 
and  rugged  rocks  rising  in  various  places  all  over 
it.  Between  these,  however,  there  was  some 
smooth  ground,  covered  with  very  green  grass, 
and  a  few  trees. 

This  island  was  connected  with  the  shore  by 
a  narrow  strip  of  low,  sandy  land,  which  Lucy 
thought  was  a  road  that  the  people  had  made,  so 
as  to  get  over  to  the  lighthouse.  It  appeared  to 
be  about  as  wide  as  a  road  ;  but  Marielle  told 
her  that  it  was  nothing  but  a  natural  beach. 

"  Well,"  said  Lucy,  "  at  any  rate,  it  will  do 
for  a  road.  We  can  get  over  to  the  lighthouse 
on  it." 


WALKS    AND    RIDES.  85 

"  Yes/'  -aid  M  arielle,  "  perhaps  so.  It  looks 
smooth  ar»k  dry." 

"  Let  as  ask  your  mother  to  let  us  go  over 
there,  then/''  said  Lucy,  "  some  day." 

"  Yes,"  said  Marielle,  " I  will ;  only  I  had 
rather  have  Parker  go  with  us." 

"  Well,"  replied  Lucy,  "  that  will  be  a  good 
plan." 

The  girls  then  concluded  to  go  home  to  break- 
fast. 

At  breakfast,  Marielle  told  her  mother  how  sur- 
prised they  were  to  find  that  the  land  which  they 
were  upon  was  only  a  narrow  point,  and  that,  by 
going  along  the  road  a  little  way,  they  could  pass 
over  it  to  a  sea-shore  on  the  other  side.  This 
was,  however,  no  new  intelligence  to  Lady  Jane. 
She  was  well  acquainted  with  the  conformations 
of  the  shore.  In  fact,  the  shore  was  deeply  in- 
dented with  bays,  and  bordered  with  islands,  for 
many  miles  along  the  coast ;  and  there  were 
houses  built  in  various  situations,  which  were  re- 
tired and  pleasant,  on  purpose  to  receive  com- 
pany which  came  to  enjoy  the  sea  breezes  in  the 
summer.  Some  of  these  houses  were  upon  the 
main  land,  and  some  upon  the  islands ;  and  at 
the  time  when  Lady  Jane  and  the  children  were 
there,  these    houses    were    generally    filled    with 


86  LUCT    ON    THE    SEA-SHORE. 

company ;  so  that  the  children  often  met  ladies 
and  gentlemen  walking  upon  the  shores,  or  saw 
them  sailing  about  in  pleasure  parties  on  the 
water. 

There  was  a  little  village,  too,  pretty  near,  at  a 
place  called  the  landing.  There  was  a  hotel  at 
the  village,  and  considerable  company  at  the 
hotel.  The  hotel  was  about  a  mile  and  a  half 
from  the  house  which  Parker  had  chosen  for 
Lady  Jane.  Parker  kept  his  horses  at  the  hotel, 
where  there  was  a  large  stable  on  purpose  for 
keeping  horses ;  and  Parker  spent  the  night  at 
the  hotel  himself.  He  always  came  with  the 
carriage  every  morning  about  ten  o'clock,  to  take 
Lady  Jane  out  to  ride,  and  to  receive  his  orders 
for  the  day. 

Generally,  Marielle  and  Lucy  rode  with  Lady 
Jane.  The  rides  were  usually  around  the  shore, 
by  roads  made  on  purpose  for  such  drives 
Sometimes  Parker  would  drive  them  on  the  beach 
for  half  a  mile,  with  the  water  dashing  up  under 
the  horses'  feet,  and  under  the  wheels.  There 
was  one  beach,  in  particular,  which  was  very 
broad  and  white,  and  as  smooth  and  hard  as  a 
floor.  The  water  continued  rolling  upon  the 
sand,  in  a  succession  of  long  waves,  which  curled 
over,  and  broke,  at  last,  in  a  long,  white  roll  of 


WALKS     AND    RIDES.  87 

foam,  extending  from  end  to  end  of  the  beach 
It  was  very  pleasant  for  them  to  ride  here,  with 
the  cool  air  from  the  sea,  fanning  them  in  their 
seats  in  the  carriage,  and  the  water  bathing  inces- 
santly the  road  beneath  their  wheels. 

One  of  the  pleasantest  rides  which  they  took 
was  down  to  the  lighthouse.  The  low,  sandv 
neck,  which  connected  the  lighthouse  island  with 
the  main  land,  answered  vevy  well  for  a  road 
when  the  water  was  not  too  high.  When  the 
tide  was  up,  it  was  covered,  so  that  it  was  impos- 
sible to  get  to  the  island  without  a  boat.  But, 
excepting  when  it  was  near  high  tide,  it  was  very 
pleasant  crossing  ;  and  even  when  it  was  barely 
covered,  Parker  would  drive  over  it,  the  horses 
walking  along  through  the  water.  Lucy  told 
Marielle  that  this  was  like  fording  the  rivers,  as 
she  did  when  she  was  among  the  mountains. 

The  lighthouse  was  kept  by  an  old  man  with 
a  wooden  leg.  He  had  a  small  boat,  and  he 
used  to  row  himself  out  in  it  to  catch  fish  ;  and 
then  he  would  take  them  to  the  landing  in  his 
noat  to  sell.  His  name  was  Star.  His  wife  was 
older  than  he  was,  and  even  more  infirm.  She 
was  almost  blind.  She  used  to  sit  under  a  little 
porch  before  the  door,  knitting,  and  listening  to  the 
roar  of  the  surf  upon    the   beach.     Lady    Jane 


88  LUCY    ON    THE    SEA-SHORE. 

used  often  to  £0  down  and  see  her,  and  talk  with 
her  about  old  times.  One  day,  when  they  were 
coming  home  from  a  visit  to  the  lighthouse,  Ma- 
rielle  asked  her  mother  why  she  liked  to  talk  with 
the  old  lady  so  much  about  old  times. 

"  Partly  because  I  like  to  hear  what  she  has  to 
say,"  replied  Lady  Jane,  "  and  partly  because  it 
pleases  her  to  tell  me." 

"  Does  it  please  her  particularly  to  tell  you ?  " 
asked  Marielle. 

"  Yes,"  replied  her  mother.  "  Old  people  are 
always  very  fond  of  telling  about  old  times.  In 
the  first  place,  they  remember  more  distinctly 
what  took  place  when  they  were  young,  and 
talking  about  it  brings  up  very  vivid  scenes, 
which  interest  their  minds.  And  then  it  makes 
them  feel  as  if  they  were  of  some  consequence, 
to  find  that  what  they  know  is  interesting  to  other 
people." 

Lucy  resolved  that,  some  time  when  she  and 
Marielle  were  down  at  the  lighthouse,  she  would 
talk  with  the  old  lady  herself  about  old  times. 

Not  very  far  from  where  they  were  residing, 
there  was  the  wreck  of  a  vessel,  driven  partly  up 
on  the  beach,  so  that  Marielle  and  Lucy  could 
climb  into  it  when  the  tide  was  low  enough. 
The  wreck  had  pretty   nearly   gone   to   pieces : 


WALKS    AND    RIDES.  89 

indeed,  little  was  left  excepting  the  ribs  ;  and  these 
were  partly  buried  in  the  sand.  It  seemed  to  be 
fallen  over  upon  one  side,  and  it  looked  so  old 
that  the  children  concluded  that  it  had  been  there 
a  great  many  years ;  Lucy  thought  at  least  as 
many  as  a  hundred.  The  wood  was  all  covered, 
as  high  as  the  tide  came  up,  with  curious-looking 
things,  like  little  shells.  Parker  told  them  that 
they  were  called  barnacles. 

The  girls  regularly  spent  two  hours,  in  the 
morning,  in  their  room.  Sometimes  they  read  ; 
sometimes  they  wrote  ;  and  sometimes,  for  several 
days  in  succession,  they  devoted  the  whole  two 
hours  to  drawing.  Lady  Jane  did  not  tell  them 
the  reason  why  she  requiied  them  to  remain  at 
their  tables  a  part  of  every  day ;  but  the  reason 
was,  that  she  knew  that  they  would  enjoy  them- 
selves a  great  deal  more,  during  those  hours  of  the 
day  which  they  spent  in  play,  if  they  were  con- 
fined to  their  studies  a  part  of  the  time.  So  she 
always  adopted  this  plan  with  Marielle  when  they 
were  away  from  home,  excepting  the  days  when 
they  were  actually  on  the  road. 

The  girls  became  so  interested  in  their  drawing. 

that  at  last  they  earned  their  paper  and   some 

pencils  down  to  the  sea-shore,  and  attempted  tG 

draw  there.     The  first  lesson  was  the  lighthouse. 

8* 


90  LUCY    ON    THE    SEA-SHORE. 

They  found  a  place  among  the  rocks  where  thej 
could  see  it  very  distinctly;  and  so,  putting  theii 
papers  upon  a  book,  and  holding  the  books  in 
their  laps,  they  worked  for  half  an  hour. 

Marielle  succeeded  with  her  drawing  very 
well.  Lucy  looked  at  it  repeatedly  while  Ma- 
rielle was  at  work  upon  it ;  and  when  it  was 
finished,  she  said  that  it  looked  very  much  like  a 
lighthouse. 

"  But  as  for  mine,"  she  added,  "  it  looks  more 
like  a  picture  of  Eben's  lantern  than  like  a  light 
house." 

"Eben's  lantern!  What  Eben?"  asked  Ma« 
nelle. 

"  Why,  the  general's  Eben,"  replied  Lucy 

"  Where  does  he  live  ?  "  said  Marielle. 

"  O,  among  the  mountains,"  said  Lucy. 


9t 


CHAPTER    VIII 
A  TRUE  STORY. 

One  evening,  Marielle  and  Lucy  wanted  to  go 
and  take  a  walk  upon  the  sea-shore.  Marielle 
asked  her  mother  whether  Parker  could  go  with 
them,  for  he  sometimes  went  with  them,  to  take 
care  of  them  on  their  walks,  especially  when  they 
went  out  near  the  evening.  But  her  mother  said 
that  she  believed  she  would  go  with  them  herself. 

So  they  set  out,  and  went  down  upon  the  point 
towards  the  lighthouse.  It  was  just  before  sun- 
down. 

They  came  to  a  place  where  there  was  a  car- 
penter at  work  repairing  a  wharf.  It  was  a  small 
wharf,  where  fishing-boats  were  accustomed  to 
land.  They  had  seen  the  carpenter  before,  and 
they  sat  down  ipon  a  large  stick  of  timber,  which 
was  lying  upon  the  wharf,  to  see  what  he  was 
doing. 

"  It  is  a  pleasant  evening,"  said  Ladsv  Jane. 

"  Yes,  madam,"  said  the  carpenter,  "  a  very 
pleasant  evening      Pm  glad  of  it  for  the  sake  of 


92  LUCY    ON    THE    SEA-SHORE. 

the  shipping  off  the  coast,  though  they  do  some- 
times get  into  difficulty  even  in  pleasant  weather." 

"  Ah !  do  they  ?  "  said  Lady  Jane. 

"  Yes,"  replied  the  carpenter.     K  I  was  cast 
away  once  myself  in  as  pleasant  an  evening  as 
this  ;  only  it  was  not  in  this  season  of  the  year 
It  was  in   November,  about  nine  o'clock,  a  fine 
moonlight  evening." 

"  How  was  it  ?  "  said  Lady  Jane.  "  Tell  us 
all  about  it." 

"  'Twas  a  number  of  years  ago,"  replied  the 
carpenter.  "  It  was  in  November  —  a  bright  and 
moonlight  evening  in  November.  I  had  been  at 
work  at  the  eastward.  I  was  an  apprentice  then, 
and  was  going  home.  We  shipped  on  board  of  a 
sloop  loaded  with  lumber.  We  had  a  very  heavy 
load.  There  were  three  or  four  store  frames  on 
the  deck  —  very  long  timbers.  Some  of  them 
stretched  out  ten  feet  over  the  bows,  and  so 
away  back  to  the  quarter-deck. 

"  We  were  cumbered  up  so  much  that  the 
captain  was  afraid  to  go  out  unless  the  prospect 
was  very  fair.  So  he  waited  some  time  ;  and  at 
last  the  passengers  began  to  get  tired,  and  wanted 
him  to  go  out.  There  were  as  many  as  thirty 
passengers,  and  one  or  two  old  sea-captains 
among   them.     The   captain    of  the   sloop    was 


A    TRUE    STORY.  93 

rather  a  young  man  ;  and  besides  him,  there  were 
a  mate  and  a  boy,  and  that  was  all  that  belonged 
to  the  sloop.  We  ran  down  to  the  mouth  of  the 
nver  once  or  twice  ;  but,  when  we  got  there,  the 
captain  thought  the  wind  was  not  promising 
enough.     So  we  ran  back  again. 

"  At  last,  one  afternoon,  we  went  down  ;  but, 
when  we  got  to  the  mouth  of  the  river,  the  captain 
was  still  rather  unwilling  to  go  out.  The  moon 
was  almost  full,  and  shining  clear.  It  would  be 
full  at  midnight.  The  wind  was  north-east, 
and  the  captain  said  that,  when  the  moon  changed, 
if  the  wind  should  come  in  at  the  north-west,  he 
should  lose  his  deck-load.  It  would  blow  him 
off.  So  he  wanted  to  wait  till  after  midnight,  to 
see  how  the  weather  looked  then.  But  the 
passengers  persuaded  him  to  put  out,  and  so 
he  did. 

"  We  had  a  very  fine  sail  along  the  shore  that 
evening.  I  could  see  the  land  all  the  way.  I 
remember  I  got  into  a  hogshead  that  was  on 
deck,  one  head  out,  for  the  cabin  was  so  full  of 
passengers,  that  there  was  no  room  to  lie  down 
on  any  thing.  The  wind  was  fair,  a  little  off 
shore,  and  we  went  on  well,  main  sheet  all  out, 
till  about  eio-ht  o'clock,  when  I  heard  the  man  at 
the  helm  say,  'There  are  breakers  on  the  weatli- 


04  LUCY    ON    THE    SEA-SHORE. 

er  of  us.'  He  put  the  helm  hard  up,  but  it  was 
too  late.     We  struck  a  moment  afterwards. 

"  It  was  a  smooth  sort  of  a  rock,  which  lay 
shelving  in  the  water,  and  the  bows  of  the  sloop 
slid  up  on  it  about  ten  feet.  So  we  didn't  strike 
solid.  But  there  we  were,  fast.  The  tide  was 
ebbing.  The  captain  was  below  ;  but  he  came 
up,  and  he,  and  the  mate,  and  the  boy,  took  to  the 
boat.  The  boat  was  astern.  They  got  on  board 
of  her,  and  pushed  off,  and  said  that  they  were 
going  to  the  shore  to  get  help.  And  so  away 
they  went,  without  leaving  any  orders,  or  telling 
us  what  to  do.     They  were  gone  three  hours." 

"  What  time  did  you  say  this  was  ?  "  asked 
Marielle. 

"  This  was  about  eight  o'clock  in  the  evening," 
said  the  carpenter.  "  As  soon  as  they  were 
gone,  we  went  to  work.  First,  we  handed  the 
sails,  and  then  we  got  up  our  tools.  I  had  my 
chest  of  tools  below.  I  was  apprentice  then,  and 
the  man  I  worked  with  was  aboard  too.  We  got 
our  tools,  and  went  to  work  with  every  thing  that 
would  cut,  and  cut  up  these  long  timbers  on  the 
deck,  and  got  them  overboard.  The  sea  was 
pretty  smooth,  but  the  swell  dashed  the  spray 
upon  us  some,  though  we  didn't  mind  it.  The 
tide  ebbed  away,  and,  after  a  while,  it   left   the 


A    TRUE    STORY.  95 

rocks  bare  on  one  side  —  the  side  next  the  shore.  I 
got  down  on  the  rocks  once  on  that  side.  On  the 
other  side  it  was  deep  water.  We  would  throw 
over  a  piece  of  timber  thirty  feet  long,  and  it 
didn't  seem  to  strike  bottom. 

"We  worked  away  all  night.  About  mid- 
night, we  heard  the  boat  coming.  The  captain 
came  near  enough  to  hail  us,  but  he  wouldn't 
come  on  board.  He  didn't  dare  to.  He  said 
that  help  was  coming.  There  was  a  brig,  he 
said,  with  a  large  crew  up  a  bay,  and  he  had  sent 
to  them,  to  come  down  with  boats. 

"  The  people  built  fires,  too,  all  along  the  shore. 
We  were  not  more  than  a  mile  from  the  shore, 
and  we  could  see  them  around  the  fires  quite 
plain.  We  got  along  very  well  as  long  as  we 
had  work  to  do ;  but  about  two  o'clock,  we  got 
the  deck-load  all  off,  and  then  we  had  nothing  to 
do,  and  it  began  to  seem  rather  lonesome.  Be- 
sides, the  tide,  by  this  time,  rose  again,  and  floated 
the  stern  of  the  sloop  off  the  rock  ;  and  then 
every  swell  of  the  sea  would  lift  up  the  stern,  and 
let  it  down  again  hard.  So  we  kept  thumping. 
Finally,  it  carried  away  the  rudder,  and  stove  in 
the  stern,  so  that  the  hold  and  cabin  were  half 
full  of  water. 

"  At  last,  we  heard  the  boats  coming.     There 


^6  LI  X\     ON    THK    SEA-SHORE. 

were  three  of  them.  They  came  right  up  along- 
side. As  soon  as  we  heard  them,  every  one  went 
to  work  getting  a  few  of  their  things  together 
in  nandkerchiefs  and  bundles,  to  save  a  little 
something  if  they  could.  But  as  soon  as  the 
boats  came  alongside,  1  don't  think  it  was  more 
than  three  minutes  before  we  were  all  in,  and  had 
pushed  off.  There  was  one  man  there  who  went 
down  into  the  cabin  to  get  his  trunk,  and,  while 
he  was  there,  the  sloop  thumped  so  hard  as  to 
knock  him  down,  and  stun  him  ;  and  then  it 
tumbled  him  about  on  the  cabin  floor.  He  could 
not  get  up  again,  and  several  men  had  to  go 
down  and  hand  him  right  up  the  companion-way 
by  main  force.     He  was  stunned. 

"  So  we  all  got  into  the  boats,  only  there  was 
one  man,  the  boatswain  of  the  brig,  who  said  he 
would  stay  on  board,  if  any  body  would  stay  with 
him  ;  and  another  one  volunteered  to  do  it.  Sc 
they  staid  while  the  boats  went  to  the  shore  and 
came  back. 

"  While  we  were  gone,  the  tide  got  up  so  high 
that  it  floated  the  sloop  off  the  rocks,  and  she 
drifted  away  into  deep  water,  until  they  let  go  the 
anchor,  and  that  held  her.  She  was  pretty  mucn 
full  of  water,  but  she  could  not  sink,  for  she  was 
loaded    with    boards.     We   had    forty   thousand 


A    TRUE    STORY.  97 

feet  of  boards  below.  She  lay  there  tiil  the  next 
day,  and  then  they  went  out  with  a  great  number 
of  boats,  and  undertook  to  tow  her  in.  But  it 
was  very  slow  work.  You  see,  the  rudder  was 
gone,  and  they  couldn't  steer  her  .,  and  she  yawed 
about  so,  that  they  could  hardly  do  any  thing  with 
her.  Finally,  they  got  her  in,  and  repaired  her, 
but  it  took  all  winter.  I  did  not  get  my  things,  I 
know,  till  the  next  June." 

"  Then  they  repaired  the  vessel  ? ':  said  Lady 
Jane. 

"  Yes,"  said  the  carpenter  ;  "  they  repaired  her, 
and  sent  her  to  sea  again." 

"  I  think  you  had  a  very  narrow  escape,"  said 
Lady  Jane. 

"  Yes,"  said  the  carpenter ;  "  it  was  well  for 
us  that  it  was  a  still  ni^ht.  If  the  wind  had 
breezed  up  while  the  captain  was  gone  ashore,  it 
would  have  staved  us  all  to  pieces." 

As  the  carpenter  said  this,  he  gathered  up  his 
tools,  and  began  to  go  away,  for  it  was  time  for 
him  to  leave  off  his  work.  Lady  Jane  and  the 
two  girls  rambled  along  the  shore  a  little  while, 
and  then  they  turned  towards  home. 

"  Mother,"  said  Marielle,  after  she  had  been 
walking  along  a  few  minutes  in  silence,  "  I  neve? 
9 


98  LUCY    ON    THE    SEA-SHORE. 

heard  of  a  shipwreck  in  a  pleasant  evening  b% 
fore." 

"I  suppose  it  is  not  very  usual,"  said  Lady 
Jane.  "  In  the  pleasant  evenings,  they  can  see 
the  rocks  and  breakers,  and  so  avoid  them  " 

"  What  are  breakers  ?  "  asked  Lucy. 

"  They  are  the  waves  breaking  over  rocks  thai 
are  under  water,"  replied  Lady  Jane.  "  When 
the  water  is  deep,  the  waves  roll  along  regularly  ; 
but  if  there  ire  any  rocks,  the  water  breaks  and 
foams  against  them,  and  that  gives  the  sailors 
warning." 

"There's  one  thing  I  did  not  understand," 
said  Marielle,  "  about  the  captain  and  his  boat. 
The  carpenter  said  that  the  captain  only  came 
back  near  enough  to  speak  to  them,  but  he 
wouldn't  come  to  the  vessel." 

"  Yes,"  said  Lady  Jane ;  "  I  remember  he 
said  so." 

"  He  said  the  captain  was  afraid  to  come." 

"Yes,"  replied  Lady  Jane;  "he  was  afraid 
that  the  passengers  would  all  come  crowding  into 
the  boat,  and  sink  it.  That  is  the  way  they  often 
do  when  a  vessel  is  wrecked,  or  in  any  very  urgent 
danger.  The  passengers  and  crew  sometimes  all 
crowd  into  the  boats,  and  so  ihey  sink  them." 


A    TKUE    STORY.  99 

"  It  seems  to  me  that  is  very  foolish,"  said 
Luc}\ 

"  Yes,"  said  Lad}'  Jane,  "  it  seems  foolish  ;  but 
the}'  are  all  so  eager  to  escape  from  the  danger, 
that  they  don't  consider.  Each  one  hopes  that  the 
boat  will  hold  one  more  ;  and  they  get  it  so  full 
that  it  sinks,  or  else  it  is  loaded  down  so  deep 
that  the  waves  break  over  it,  and  fill  it  with  water, 
as  soon  as  the}*  attempt  to  sail  away.  It  often 
requires  great  presence  of  mind  and  energy  in  the 
captain,  to  prevent  the  boats  being  overloaded, 
in  case  of  any  urgent  danger  at  sea." 


100 


CHAPTER    IX. 

THE   XESCUE. 

Parker  had  instructed  Marielle  and  Lucy  thai, 
when  the  tide  was  going  down,  it  was  safe  for 
them  to  walk  out  over  low  places  in  the  sands, 
for  then  they  would  find  the  water  lower  still 
when  they  wanted  to  come  back.  But  when  the 
tide  was  rising,  he  thought  they  ought  to  be  very 
careful  to  keep  away  from  the  low  sands.  He 
meant  such  low  sands  as  led  off  to  little  islands, 
or  under  the  base  of  the  cliffs ;  for  there  were 
several  places  where  tnere  were  cliffs  almost 
perpendicular,  which  the  sea  dashed  against  with 
great  fury  ;  only,  when  the  tide  was  nearly  down, 
there  came  a  little  beach  into  view,  at  the  bottom, 
wide  enough  for  Lucy  and  Marielle  to  walk  upon 
aloncr  under  the  rocks.  Parker  charged  them  to 
keep  away  from  all  such  places  when  the  tide 
was  coming  up,  for  fear  that  they  might  get  en- 
trapped somewhere  by  the  water. 

Near  a  place  where  the  broad  beach  ended, 
and  the  cliffs  bejjan,  there  was  a  little  island  at  a 


THE    RESCUE.  10 1 

«hort  distance  from  the  shore.  The  L  and  was 
a  large  rock,  with  ragged  and  broken  edges  all 
arounci,  and  the  surface,  all  over  the  top,  was 
covered  with  innumerable  chasms  and  fissures. 
Still  the  rock  was  not  very  high  above  the  water, 
and  the  top  of  it  was  nearly  flat  in  its  general 
form,  and  the  chasms  in  it  were  not  deep,  so  that 
Marielle  and  Lucy  could  clamber  all  over  it. 
They  liked  to  go  out  to  this  rock  when  the  tide 
was  half  down,  and  still  ebbing.  They  called  it 
their  castle.  Parker  told  them  it  was  a  safe  place 
for  them,  if  they  were  careful  not  to  get  caught 
there.  "  Q,  we'll  take  care  ;  we  won't  get  caught," 
said  Marielle,  at  the  time  when  Parker  was  giving 
them  their  instructions. 

"  If  such  an  accident  should  happen,"  said 
Parker,  "  there  will  be  no  occasion  for  any  alarm, 
Miss  Marielle." 

"  What  should  we  do  ? "  asked  Marielle. 

"  Nothing  but  remain  on  the  rock,  and  in  a 
short  time  you  would  be  missed  at  home,  and  I 
should  come  in  pursuit  of  you." 

"  But  perhaps  the  tide  would  come  up  and 
drown  us  before  then,"  said  Lucy. 

"  No,"  said  Parker ;  "  this  rock  is  not  covered 
at  ordinary  tides.  Great  storms  drive  over  it ;  but, 
it  this  season  of  the  year,  for  months  at  a  time,  the 


102  LUCY    ON    THE    SEA-SHORE. 

top  of  it  is  not  even  wet  with  the  spray.  How- 
ever, it  is  best  to  keep  away  from  it  when  the 
tide  is  flowing." 

Lucy  determined  that  she  would  not  go  on  it 
at  all,  when  Parker  said  this  ;  but  her  fears  dimin- 
ished as  she  became  more  accustomed  to  the  sea ; 
and  finally  they  used  to  go  out  to  the  castle  pretty 
often.  There  was  a  smooth,  sandy  beach,  which 
led  to  it,  when  the  tide  was  half  out,  very  much 
like  the  little  isthmus  which  led  to  the  lighthouse 
island. 

One  afternoon,  the  children  were  down  upon 
the  shore,  drawing.  Marielle  had  been  trying  to 
draw  the  old  wreck.  She  thought  it  would  be 
very  easy ;  but,  instead  of  that,  she  found  it  was 
very  difficult  indeed,  it  was  so  irregular  in  its 
form.  Presently  they  saw  some  ladies  walking 
alono-  towards  them  on  the  shore.  So  Marielle 
put  her  paper  and  pencil  into  her  little  portfolio, 
and  began  to  walk  along  with  Lucy  towards  the 
castle.  There  was  a  boat  nearly  opposite  the 
front  of  this  rock,  lying  at  anchor.  The  water 
was  smooth,  and  the  boat  looked  beautifully,  sit- 
ting upon  it  like  a  bird.  It  was  painted  green,  and 
it  had  one  tall  and  slender  mast,  and  a  very  few 
ropes.  Marielle  immediately  determined  that  she 
would  draw  it 


THE    RESCUE.  103 

"  It  will  be  a  beautiful  drawing  lesson,"  said 
jlarielle,  "  and  I  think  it  will  be  easy,  because 
there  are  so  few  ropes.  We  will  go  out  on  our 
•^astle,  and  then  I  can  get  an  excellent  plare  to 
sit  and  draw  it." 

"  Well,"  said  Lucy,  "  I'll  make  a  mark." 

So  Lucy  picked  up  a  broken  shell,  which  was 
lying  upon  the  sand,  and  went  to  "  make  a  mark," 
as  she  expressed  it,  in  order  to  see  whether  the 
tide  was  going  out,  or  coming  in.  It  was  a 
method  which  they  usually  adopted.  There  was 
an  almanac  at  the  house,  which  told  them  at  what 
time  it  would  be  high  water ;  but  they  did  not 
like  to  trust  the  almanac  entirely,  especially  as  it 
was  so  easy  to  make  a  mark,  and  see  for  them- 
selves. Marielle  said  that  there  might  possibly 
be  some  mistake  in  the  almanac. 

They  usually  made  their  mark  upon  the  beach, 
at  the  highest  place  which  the  water  came  to  as 
it  rolled  up  the  slope  of  sand  ;  for,  when  a  long, 
white  wave  broke  into  foam,  there  was  generally 
a  thin  sheet  of  water  which  came  from  it,  that 
glided  many  feet  up  the  slope  of  the  beach. 
Now,  they  would  watch  this  wave,  as  it  glided  in 
towards  their  feet,  and  draw  a  line  on  the  sand  at 
the  place  where  it  stopped.  Then  the  water 
would  all   run  down  the  slope  again,  until  >t  was 


104  LUCY    ON    THE     SEA-SHORE. 

met  by  another  great  wave,  curling  over  and 
breaking  upon  it  in  foam.  They  would  watch 
these  returning  billows  for  a  few  minutes,  mark 
every  one,  and  then  they  would  select  the  highest 
of  their  marks,  and  deepen  that  a  little,  and 
smooth  over  the  others.  Then  they  would  play 
about  on  the  beach  a  few  minutes,  until  the  tide 
had  time  to  rise  or  fall  a  little,  when  thev  would 
return  to  the  place  which  they  had  marked,  and 
observe  whether  the  waves  came  up  higher  than 
their  mark,  or  not  so  high  ;  and  thus  they  satisfied 
themselves  whether  the  tide  was  rising  or  falling. 

Lucy  accordingly  made  a  mark  ;  and,  after  wait- 
ing a  little  time,  they  found  the  tide  was  falling. 
This  corresponded  with  what  the  almanac  had 
predicted ;  for,  by  the  almanac,  the  tide  was  to 
be  high  at  noon,  and,  as  it  was  now  afternoon,  it 
ought  to  be  going  down. 

Being  convinced,  therefore,  by  the  united  evi- 
dence of  the  almanac  and  their  observation,  that 
the  tide  was  going  down,  the  girls  walked  over 
the  sand,  and  ascended  the  rock.  They  clam- 
bered alon£  towards  the  outer  edge  of  it.  Mari- 
elle  helped  Lucy  over  the  chasms  and  ragged 
places.  They  found  a  very  pleasant  place  to  sit, 
on  the  side  of  the  rock  which  was  towards  the 
little  sail-boat ;  for  the  sail-boat  was  in  a  sort  of 


THE    RESCUE.  105 

cove,  which  had  the  castle  and  the  sandy  neck  on 
one  side,  and  the  beach  on  the  other,  so  that  it 
could  be  seen  either  from  the  shore  or  from  the 
castle,  but  better  from  the  castle,  because  it  was 
nearer  to  it  than  it  was  to  the  main  land.  Be- 
sides, the  girls  found  a  better  place  to  sit  down 
and  draw,  upon  the  rocks  of  their  island,  than  they 
cou-ld  upon  the  low,  sandy  beach  of  the  main 
land. 

After  they  had  been  drawing  here  for  some 
time,  Lucy  got  tired,  and  she  laid  her  pencil 
down  by  her  side,  saying  that  she  could  not  draw 
a  vessel. 

"  It  is  not  a  vessel,"  said  Marielle ;  "  it  is  only 
a  boat." 

"  It  has  got  a  mast,"  said  Lucy,  "  and  some 
ropes." 

"  Yes,"  replied  Marielle  ;  "  but  it  is  only  a  sail 
ing-boat." 

"  Well,"  said  Lucy,  "  it  is  hard  to  draw,  at  any 
rate.  It  is  as  hard  as  a  vessel,  because  of  the 
ropes  ;  and  I'm  not  going  to  draw  any  more.  I'm 
going  to  see  this  log." 

What  Lucy  called  a  log  was  part  of  the  topmast 
of  a  vessel  that  was  lying  upon  the  sand.  This 
topmast  had  been  driven  upon  the  rocks  in  this 


106  LUCY    ON    THL    SEA-SHORE. 

place,  and  had  got  wedged  in  among  them,  and 
there  it  had  been  lying  for  many  years* 

"  Lacy,"  said  Marielle,  "  you  must  not  go 
down  near  the  water." 

"  No,"  said  Lucy ;  "  I'm  only  going  down  to 
sit  on  this  great  log." 

"  I  think  that  is  rather  too  near,"  said  Marielle. 
"  That  is  pretty  near  the  sea-weed.  Parker  said 
we  must  keep  away  from  the  sea-weed." 

Parker  had  told  Marielle  that  these  rocks, 
which  were  near  the  water's  edge,  when  they 
were  covered  with  sea-weed,  were  very  slippery. 
The  tide,  rising  and  falling  over  them,  kept  them 
wet ;  and,  though  the  sea-weed  might  appear  dry 
sometimes  upon  the  top,  it  was  often  very  wet 
and  slippery  below. 

Lucy,  therefore,  did  not  go  very  near,  but  sat 
down  upon  the  end  of  the  broken  topmast,  and 
began  to  look  out  upon  the  water,  to  see  what  was 
to  be  seen. 

"  O  Marielle,"  said  Lucy,  "  there  is  a  great, 
white  bird  ;  look  at  him  !  " 

"  Yes,  in  a  minute,"  said  Marielle. 

"  He'll  be  gone  in  a  minute,"  said  Lucy  ;  "  he's 
going  behind  that  island." 

"  No  matter,"  said  Marielle.  "  I  am  just 
making   the   seats   in   this  boat." 


THE    RESCUE.  107 

Manelle  did  not  look  away  from  her  work 
5he  moved  her  eyes  alternately  from  her  drawing 
to  the  sail-boat,  and  from  the  sail-boat  to  the 
drawing.  Lucy  did  not  urge  her  to  look  at  the 
bird,  for  just  then  he  disappeared  behind  some 
trees ;  and,  besides,  Lucy's  attention  was  attracted 
by  hearing  a  peculiar  sound,  like  the  rattling  cf 
oars,  coming  over  the  water.  The  sound  was 
faint  and  distant.  Lucy  looked  in  the  direction 
*rom  which  it  came,  and  listened  very  attentively. 

Presently  she  called  out  to  Marielle,  — ' 

"  Marielle,  here's  a  boat  coming." 

"  Well,"  said  Marielle. 

"  Look  !  Marielle,  look  !  Here  is  a  boat  com- 
ing round  the  rock.     It  is  coming  this  way." 

"  Yes,"  said  Marielle,  "  I'll  look  in  a  minute.' 

"  There  are  two  men  in  it,  Marielle,"  continued 
Lucy. 

Marielle  looked  up  from  her  work,  and  saw,  as 
Lucy  had  said,  a  small  boat  coming  across  the 
water,  directly  towards  them.  There  were  two 
men  in  it.  One  was  in  the  middle  of  the  boat 
with  his  back  towards  them,  rowing.  The  other 
was  in  the  farther  end  of  it,  with  his  face  toward* 
the  children.  He  was  steering.  The  boat  had 
come  out  from  a  little  cove :  it  had  turned,  and 
now  seemed  to  be  coming  directly  towards  them 


108  LUCY    ON    THE    SEA-SHORE. 

M  arielle  and  Lucy  watched  it,  expecting  ewry 
moment  to  see  it  turn  off  to  go  somewhere  else ; 
but  it  did  not.  It  continued  to  advance  directly 
towards  them,  as  they  thought,  though,  at  length, 
Marielle  perceived  that  its  course  was  beginning  to 
tend  more  directly  towards  the  sail-boat  than  to 
them.  All  uncertainty  as  to  its  destination  was 
soon  ended,  as  it  approached  nearer  and  nearer  the 
sail-boat,  until,  at  last,  the  man  who  was  rowing 
took  in  his  oars,  and  the  little  skiff  swept  swiftly 
around,  and  came  up  close  alongside  the  sail-boat. 

Both  men  stepped  into  the  sail-boat.  The 
man  who  had  been  in  the  stern  of  the  small  boat 
was  a  well-dressed  gentleman.  The  other  ap- 
peared to  be  a  sailor.  The  gentleman  took  his 
seat  in  the  stern  of  the  sail-boat,  while  the  sailor 
appeared  to  fasten  the  skiff  to  the  buoy  to  which 
the  sail-boat  had  been  moored.  After  he  had 
fastened  it,  Lucy  looked  at  the  gentleman  again, 
and  found  that  he  was  doing  something  to  the 
rudder.  While  he  was  at  work  adjusting  the 
rudder,  the  sailor  unfastened  the  sail,  and  hoisted 
it.  There  was  not  much  wind,  but  the  sail  rilled, 
and  the  boat  slowly  turned  away,  and,  a  little 
bieeze  springing  up,  it  began  to  glide  rapidly  over 
the  water.  The  wind,  pressing  upon  the  sail, 
c&used  the  boat  to  lean  over  towards  the  rock 


THE    RESCUE.  IK 

where  Marielle  and  Lucy  were  sitting,  so  that 
they  could  see  into  it  very  plainly.  The  sailor 
was  seated  not  very  far  from  the  mast,  and  the 
gentleman  in  the  stern,  steering.  The  girls 
watched  the  boat  a  few  minutes  in  silence,  and 
they  saw  that,  as  soon  as  it  had  got  clear  of  the 
rocks  and  islands,  it  changed  its  course  a  little, 
and  sailed  away  down  towards  the  lighthouse. 

"  I  think  that's  a  very  polite  young  gentleman," 
said  Marielle,  "  to  come  and  take  away  my  draw- 
ing-lesson." 

So  saying,  she  looked  down  upon  her  unfinished 
work  in  despair. 

"  Yes,"  said  Lucy  ;  "  and  I'm  glad,  for  there 
are  not  any  ropes  to  that  little  boat,  and  I  can 
draw  it  myself." 

So  Lucy  began  to  climb  up  the  rocks  again  to 
find  her  paper  and  pencil,  to  draw  the  little  boat 
which  had  been  substituted  for  the  large  one. 

By  this  time,  however,  Marielle  was  tired  of 
drawing ;  and  Lucy,  though  she  was  very  eager 
to  attempt  it,  soon  found  that  a  boat  was  very  dif- 
ficult to  draw,  even  though  it  had  no  ropes.  So 
she  soon  gave  up,  and  the  girls  concluded  to  go 
towards  home.  They  rose  from  their  seats,  and 
began  to  walk  along  over  the  top  of  the  castle  rock. 

Although  the  rock  had  a  great  many  fissures 


112  LUCY    ON    THE     SEA-SHORE. 

and  chasms  in  it,  yet  its  surface  was  smooth,  hav- 
ing been  worn  by  the  action  of  the  waves  fo: 
thousands  of  years. 

They  walked  slowly  along  over  these  rocks 
towards  the  sandy  isthmus  by  which  they  ex- 
pected to  get  to  the  shore.  They  had  taken  sn 
much  precaution  to  be  sure  that  the  tide  was 
going  down,  that  they  did  not  anticipate  any  dif- 
ficulty in  getting  off  the  island.  But  they  en- 
countered a  difficulty  of  a  very  unexpected  kind. 
There  was  a  herd  of  cows  that  had  been  feeding 
upon  a  pasture  on  the  land,  but  they  had  come 
down  to  the  water,  for  what  purpose  the  children 
could  not  imagine  ;  and  there  they  stood,  some  on 
the  shore,  and  some  just  in  the  edge  of  the  water, 
and  others  on  the  little  isthmus,  but  all  exactly 
in  the  way  where  Marielle  and  Lucy  wanted  to 
go.  There  seemed  to  be  no  way  to  get  off  the 
island,  but  to  go  directly  through  this  great  herd 
of  cows.  This  Marielle  and  Lucy  were  afraid 
to  do. 

The  children  tried  for  some  time,  ineffectually, 
to  drive  the  cows  away,  but  they  would  not  move. 
The  truth  is,  the  girls  had  no  weapons.  There 
were  neither  sticks  nor  stones  to  be  found.  There 
were  plenty  of  stones  on  the  main  shore,  back 
from  the  beach  ;  but  here,  where  they  wero,  then; 


THE    RESCUE.  113 

was  nothing  but  sand  ;  so  that  Manelle  and  Lucy 
had  no  means  of  driving  the  cows  away,  but  to 
stand  and  brandish  their  arms  at  them,  and  en- 
deavor to  frighten  them  off  by  shouts  and  scolding. 
But  as  they  did  not  dare  to  go  very  near,  the 
cows  remained  motionless  in  their  places,  without 
paying  any  attention  to  them  whatever. 

After  remaining  a  few  minutes  in  this  situation, 
the  ffirls  began  to  feel  somewhat  anxious  ;  but  their 
anxiety  was  soon  relieved  by  seeing  a  gentleman 
coming  towards  them  from  under  the  cliffs,  which 
lined  the  shore,  below  the  place  where  the  castle 
rock  joined  the  main  land.  He  was  walking  very 
slowly,  and  he  appeared  feeble.  He  had  a  cane 
in  his  hand,  and,  as  soon  as  he  came  into  view, 
the  girls  saw  that  he  was  looking  at  them.  They 
therefore  ceased  their  useless  efforts  to  drive  away 
the  cows,  and  waited  to  see  if  he  would  come 
and  help  them.  To  their  great,  joy,  he  turned 
towards  them,  continuing  to  walk,  however,  as 
slowly  as  before.  Marielle  thought  to  herself  that 
he  might  have  come  a  little  quicker  ;  but  she  was 
glad  to  see  that  he  was  coining  at  all.  He  paid 
no  attention  to  the  cows,  but  walked  directly 
through  the  herd  ;  one  of  the  cows  moved  a  step 
or  two  out  of  his  way,  but  the  rest  remained  just 
as  tliey  were. 

10* 


1 14  LUCY    ON    THE     SEA-SHORE. 

As  he  came  up,  Marielle  was  afraid  that  h* 
would  laudi  at  them  for  beins;  afraid  of  the  cows  ■ 
but  he  did  not.  On  the  contrary,  he  looked  very 
sober.  He  was  pale,  and  Marielle  thought  tha' 
he  mubt  be  sick.     He  walked  very  feebly. 

"  Are  you  afraid  of  the  cows,  girls  ? "  said  the 
gentleman. 

"  Yes,  sir,"  said  Lucy;  "and  will  you  be  so 
good  as  to  drive  them  away  with  your  cane  ?  " 

"  O,  no,"  said  the  gentleman  ;  "  we'll  let  them 
stay  where  they  are  ;  but  I'll  conduct  you  along 
safely,  if  you  will  walk  with  me." 

So  saying,  the  gentleman  turned,  and  began  tc 
walk  back  towards  the  shore,  with  the  children 
by  his  side.  He  asked  them  where  they  had 
been,  and  they  told  him  they  had  been  down  on 
the  island  to  draw.  Then  he  wanted  to  see  theii 
drawings,  and  they  went  to  the  rocks  on  the  shore, 
where  they  found  a  good  place  to  sit  down,  and 
they  took  out  their  drawings,  and  showed  them  to 
him.     He  said  that  they  were  done  very  well. 

"  And  now,"  said  he,  "  lend  me  your  pencil, 
and  a  piece  of  paper,  and  I'll  draw  you  those 
cows." 

So  Marielle  gave  him  a  pencil  and  a  piece  of 
paper,  and  the  gentleman  went  to  work.  Tie 
nade  a  drawing  of  the  castle  rock  and  the  sandy 


THE    RESCUE.  115 

neck  where  the  cows  were  standing,  and  then 
put  in  the  cows,  one  by  one,  some  on  the  sand 
and  some  in  the  water.  He  made  a  wave  just 
curling  over  upon  the  beach ;  he  also  made  the 
little  boat,  which  had  been  left  upon  the  water, 
and  which  was  just  in  sight  from  where  the}- 
were  sitting. 

"  And  now,  sir,"  said  Lucy,  "  make  Marielle 
and  me,  trying  to  drive  the  cows  away." 

The  gentleman  complied  with  Lucy's  re- 
quest, and  when  the  picture  was  finished,  he  gave 
it  to  Marielle,  who  said  she  was  going  to  carry  it 
home,  and  show  it  to  her  mother. 

"  Well,  girls,  good-by,"  said  the  gentleman  ; 
u  but  I  wish  you  would  come  here  again  to-mor- 
row. I  walk  out  here  eveiy  afternoon,  when  it  is 
pleasant ;  and  I  wish  you  would  come  and  keep 
me  company." 

"Yes,  sir,"  said  Lucy,  u  we  will." 

"Yes,"  added  Marielle,  "  if  my  mother  is 
willing." 

"  That's  right,"  said  the  gentleman  ;  "  I  will 
send  her  nry  card." 

So  he  took  out  his  card,  and  wrote  something 
on  the  back  of  it,  and  then,  enveloping  it  in  a 
piece  of  Marielle's  drawing-paper,  he  gave  it  to 
Marielle  to  cany  to  her  mother. 


m 


CHAPTER    X 

BOATING. 

When  Marielle  and  Lucy  reached  home 
they  told  Lady  Jane  of  the  danger  which  the} 
had  been  in,  and  how  they  had  been  fortunately 
rescued  by  the  gentleman  who  happened  to  come 
along  just  at  the  right  time. 

"  Do  you  know  who  it  was  ? "  said  Lady 
Jane. 

"  No,  mother,"  replied  Marielle  ;  "  but  he  gave 
me  his  card  for  you." 

So  saying,  Marielle  took  out  the  card,  which 
ihe  had  put  into  her  little  portfolio  with  her  draw- 
ings. The  card  was  neatly  enveloped  in  white 
paper. 

Lady  Jane  opened  the  envelope,  and  took  out 
the  card.  On  one  side  was  beautifully  printed 
the  name,  "  Mr.  W.  St.  John."  On  the  other 
were  written,  in  pencil,  the  following  words  :  — 

"  Lady  Jane  will  confer  a  great  favor  upon  an 
invalid,  if  she  will  allow  him  the  pleasure  of  the 


BOAilNG.  117 

children's   company,   occasionally,  in    his    walks 
upon  the  shores." 

Lady  Jane  read  this  request  aloud,  for  the  chil- 
dren to  hear  it,  and  then  folded  up  the  card  again 
Jn  its  envelope,  with  a  smile. 

"  What  is  his  name  ?  "  said  Marielle. 

"  Mr.  St.  John,"  replied  her  mother. 

"  Do  you  know  him  ?  "  asked  Marielle. 

"  I've  heard  of  him  before,"  said  Lady  Jane. 

"  Well,  mother,  may  we  go  and  take .  a  walk 
with  him  to-morrow  ?  " 

'  Yes,"  said  her  mother. 

"  There's  no  danger  in  our  going;  wjtn  nim   ls 

O  DO  ' 

there  ?  "  said  Lucy. 

"  No, '  replied  her  mother,  "  no  danger  of  any 
thing  but  of  your  being  troublesome." 

"  O,  we  were  not  troublesome,"  said  Lucy,  "  1 
know.  Only  just  I  asked  him  to  let  me  look  at 
his  <:okl-headed  cane.  But  I  don't  think  that 
that  troubled  him." 

"  No,"  said  Lady  Jane,  "  I  presume  not ;  and 
you  may  go  to-morrow  afternoon,  and  walk  with 
him,  at  all  events.  So  now  you  may  go  to  youi 
room,  and  get  ready  for  tea." 

The  next  day,  the  children  were  quite  desirous 
to  nave  the  afternoon  come  when  they  were  to  go 


118  LUCY    ON    THE    SEA-SHORE. 

out  and  meet  Mr.  St.  John.  They  took  a  ride 
in  the  morning  with  their  mother,  and  the}' 
watched  the  roads  where  they  went,  in  hopes  tc 
meet  him.  But  he  was  nowhere  to  be  seen. 
They  were  going  to  show  him  to  Lady  Jane,  if 
they  had  met  him  ;  but,  finally,  after  having  passed 
a  number  of  parties  of  gentlemen  and  ladies  riding 
or  walking,  and  no  Mr.  St.  John  appeared,  they 
were  obliged,  very  reluctantly,  to  give  up  the 
hope  of  seeing  him  until  the  afternoon. 

Immediately  after  dinner,  they  took  their  draw- 
ing materials  and  set  off.  When  they  reached 
the  foot  of  the  cliffs,  they  looked  about  for  their 
inend  ;  but  he  was  nowhere  to  be  seen. 

"  Now  I  think  of  it,"  said  Marielle,  "  it  is  not 
time  for  him  to  come  yet.  It  was  two  hours  after 
this  time,  when  he  came  yesterday." 

"  It  was  after  we  had  done  drawing  the  boats," 
said  Lucy. 

"  Yes,"  replied  Marielle.  "  So  now  let  us  sit 
down  on  the  cliffs,  and,  while  we  are  waiting,  we 
can  draw  the  same  picture  that  he  did,  —  all  ex- 
cept the  cows.     I  know  I  can't  draw  the  cows." 

So  the  girls  took  out  their  portfolios,  and  began 
to  draw.  Lucy  was  going  to  finish  the  little  boat 
which  she  had  commenced  the  day  before ;  but, 
«mi  looking  out  to  the  place,  she  found  that  it  was 


Boating  119 

not  tWe  out  that  the  vessel,  as  she  called  it. 
han  oeen  returned  to  its  place,  and  the  ooat  was 
gone. 

However,  after  waiting  a  few  minutes,  and 
considering  what  to  do,  she  heard  a  sound  as  ol 
oars  again,  and  presently  she  saw  a  boat  coming 
with  two  boys  in  it.  One  of  the  boys  was  row- 
ing. The  other  seemed  to  be  at  work  upon  some- 
thing which  he  had  upon  a  seat  by  his  side.  As 
they  came  near,  she  found  it  was  a  fishing-line. 
Presently  the  other  boy  stopped  rowing,  and  went 
to  the  bows  of  the  boat,  and  threw  out  something 
which  seemed  to  be  like  an  anchor ;  and  then 
they  both  went  to  fishing.  Lucy  immediately 
determined  to  draw  that  boat,  and  one  of  the  boys 
too.  She  said  she  knew  that  she  could  draw 
such  a  boy  as  that,  for  he  was  nothing  but  head 
and  shoulders. 

She  meant  that  there  was  nothing  to  be  seen 
but  head  and  shoulders ;  for,  as  the  boys  were 
fishing  out  of  the  side  of  the  boat  which  was 
farthest  from  the  shore,  and  as  they  leaned  over 
the  side,  they  caused  the  boat  to  tip  somewhat  in 
that  direction,  so  that  only  a  very  small  part  of 
the  boy  could  be  seen,  above  that  edge  of  the 
boai  which  was  turned  towards  them. 

Lucy  went  to  work  to  draw  the  boat,  and  for 


120  LUCY    ON    THE    SEA-SHORE. 

a  quarter  of  an  hour,  she  persevered  very  indite* 
iriously  and  patiently.  Then,  however,  to  her 
surprise,  she  saw  one  of  the  boys  look  towards  the 
shore,  and  then  he  appeared  to  say  something  to 
the  other  boy  ;  for  he,  too,  looked  up,  and  both  im- 
mediately arose,  drew  in  their  lines,  hauled  up  the 
little  grapnel  which  they  had  used  for  an  anchor, 
put  out  their  oars,  and  began  to  pull  in  towards 
the  shore. 

While  the  girls  were  wondering  what  these 
manoeuvres  could  mean,  Mr.  St.  John  suddenly 
appeared  coming  around  at  the  foot  of  the  cliffs. 
They  were  so  much  interested  in  his  coming, 
that  they  paid  no  further  attention  to  the  boys. 
Lucy  ran  down  to  meet  him,  but  Marielle  re- 
mained where  she  was.  She,  however,  put  up  her 
drawings,  and  rose  from  her  seat  upon  the  rocks. 

"  Well,  girls,"  said  Mr.  St.  John,  "  I  forgot  to 
tell  you  what  time  you  might  expect  me,  and  so 
)  have  come  earlier  than  my  usual  time,  so  as  not 
<n  keep  you  waiting.  It  seems  that  your  mother 
vas  willing  to  have  you  come." 

"  Lady  Jane  is  not  my  mother,"  said  Lucy. 

u  Isn't  she  ?  She  must  be  your  aunt.  then.  1 
uDoose,"  said  Mr.  St.  John. 

u  No,  sir,"  replied  Lucy  ;  "  she  is  not  my  aunt." 

"  Well,  at  any  rate,"    replied   Mr.    St.   John 


Boating.  121 

"  she  was  willing  to  have  you  under  my  charge ; 
and  now  we  will  go  down  into  this  boat,  and  have 
a  little  sail." 

So  Mr.  St.  John  led  the  way  down  to  tne 
beach,  and  the  girls  followed  him.  They  saw 
that  the  boys  had  come  to  the  shore  with  then 
boat,  and  were  sitting  in  it,  looking  towards  Mr 
St.  John  and  the  girls. 

Lucy  hesitated    about   getting   into  the   boat 
She  was  a  little  afraid  ;  and  then,  besides,  she  was 
not  quite  sure  that  Lady  Jane  would  be  willing. 

"  Yes,"  said  Marielle,  "  she  said  there  would 
be  no  danger  in  going  any  where  with  Mr.  St. 
John." 

"  Except  that  we  might  be  troublesome,"  said 
Lucy. 

Mr.  St.  John  smiled  a  little  at  this,  and  he  told 
the  girls  that  he  thought  they  need  not  be  afraid 
to  go  with  him.  "  However,"  he  continued,  £iwe 
had  better  be  sure,  Marielle.  If  you  feel  in  any 
doubt  whether  your  mother  would  be  willing  to 
have  you  go,  you  will  feel  uneasy  all  the  time, 
and  will  not  enjoy  the  sail.  You  had  better  let 
Lucy  go  and  ask  her,  or  else  go  yourself,  ft  is 
not  \\?ry  far." 

"I'll  go,"  said  Marielle.  "  I  can  go  quicker, 
ind  you  may  stay  here,  Lucy." 


£2  LUCY    ON    THE    SEA-SHORE. 

So  Marielle  ran  off  along  the  beach  towards 
the  house.  Presently  she  stopped  running,  and 
began  to  walk ;  but  she  walked  very  fast,  and 
Lucy  knew  that  she  would  be  back  again  very 
soon.  While  she  was  gone,  Lucy  began  to  ex- 
amine the  boat.  It  was  a  very  pretty  boat,  and 
very  clean  and  dry  inside.  There  were  two  or 
three  small  seats  near  the  stern,  covered  with 
cushions.  The  boys  sat  near  the  middle  and  for- 
ward part  of  the  boat,  with  the  oars  in  their 
hands.  Lucy  wondered  how  it  happened  that 
Mr.  St.  John  was  going  to  get  into  their  boat, 
and  what  made  them  wait  for  him.  However, 
she  supposed  that,  when  Marielle  came  back,  Mr. 
St.  John  would  ask  the  boys  to  let  him  have  their 
boat,  or,  at  least,  say  something  about  it. 

But  he  did  not.  Marielle  came  back  in  a  few 
minutes. 

"  What  did  she  say  ?  "  said  Lucy,  as  soon  as 
she  got  within  hearing. 

Marielle  did  not  answer,  but  kept  walking  on 
as  fast  as  she  could  come. 

"  Yes,  or  no,  Marielle  ?  "  said  Lucy. 

Still  no  answer.  But  when  Marielle  got  near 
enough  to  speak  to  Mr.  St.  John,  she  gave  her 
mother's  answer  to  him,  in  these  words; :  — 

"  Mother  wished  me  to  give  you  her  compli 


BOATING  123 

merits,  sir,  and  say  that  she  is  afraid  you  are  tak- 
ing a  great  deal  of  trouble  to  amuse  us ;  but  sl)3 
is  willing  to  have  us  go  wherever  you  think 
proper." 

"  Yes,  sir,"  said  Lucy,  looking  up  to  Mr. 
St.  John,  greatly  delighted ;  "  that  means  yes 
Let's  get  right  in." 

But  it  was  not  quite  so  easy  to  get  in  as  Lucy 
had  supposed  ;  for,  although  the  boys  had  brought 
up  the  boa^t  at  a  place  which  was  sheltered  from 
the  surf,  still  the  water  was  uneasy  and  restless, 
and  the  boys  had  some  difficulty  in  holding  the 
boat  still,  while  Mr.  St.  John  and  the  children 
got  in.  When  they  were  in,  however,  and  had 
got  off  a  little  way  from  the  shore,  there  was 
scarcely  any  motion  to  the  boat ;  but  it  glided 
over  the  water  very  smoothly  and  beautifully. 
The   boys  rowed,  and  Mr.  St.  John  steered. 

The  boat,  as  it  went  out,  was  moving;;  aloiw 
towards  the  sail-boat,  which  Marielle  had  attempt- 
ed to  draw  the  day  before.  Mr.  St.  John  asked 
Lucy  if  she  should  not  like  to  look  into  it.  Lucy 
of  course  said  that  she  should,  and  Mr.  St.  John 
steered  his  boat  close  to  the  side  of  it.  One  of 
the  boys  had  to  tak*»  in  his  oar,  when  they  got 
pretty  near,  to  keep  ..  Tom  striking  the  sail-boat. 
They   found  that  the  sail  boat  was  much  larget 


124  LUCY    ON    THE    SEA-SHORE. 

than  the  one  which  they  were  in.  Mr.  St.  John 
pointed  out  to  them  the  various  parts,  and  ex- 
plained their  construction  and  uses ;  and  tnen 
he  passed  on.  He  steered  around  the  castle 
rock,  and  then  turned  in  towards  the  shore  again 
on  the  other  side.  Here  there  was  a  long,  sandy 
beach,  under  the  cliffs,  which  extended  down  to- 
wards the  lighthouse ;  and  Mr.  St.  John  steered 
the  boat  so  that  it  glided  along  at  a  short  distance 
from  this  beach,  so  that  the  girls  could  see  the  rocks, 
and  the  sand  below  them,  and  the  rolling  surf 
which  washed  upon  it  with  its  ceaseless  motion. 

Lucy  watched  the  shore  for  some  time,  and 
then  she  began  to  look  at  the  boys  who  were 
rowing.  Each  oar  rested  upon  the  side  of  the 
boat,  between  two  pins,  about  as  large  as  a  man's 
finger,  which  were  fastened  into  the  edge  of  the 
boat  at  a  proper  place,  and  at  such  a  distance 
apart  as  just  to  allow  the  oar  to  play  loosely 
between  them. 

"  I  saw  those  pegs,"  said  Lucy,  "  when  I  was 
drawing  my  boat,  but  I  did  not  know  what  they 
were  for." 

"  They  are  to  keep  the  oar  in  its  place,"  sai  J 
Mr.  St.  John,  "  when  rowing." 

"  What  do  they  call  them    "  asked  Marielle. 

"  Thole-pins,"  replied  Mr   St.  John 


BOATING.  125 

°  I  made  my  thole-pins  too  far  apart/*  said 
Marielle,  "if  that's  what  they're  for." 

"  Let  me  look  at  your  drawing,"  said  Mr.  St, 
John,  "  and  see." 

So  Marielle  and  Lucy  both  took  out  their 
drawings,  and  showed  them  to  Mr.  St.  John. 
Lucy  had  not  made  any  thole-pins  in  her  boat, 
but  Marielle  had  made  them,  though  she  had 
made  them  altogether  too  far  apart.  There  was 
room  enough  to  put  two  or  three  oars  between 
them. 

"  So  you  see, '  said  Mr.  St.  John,  "  that  it  is 
necessary  to  understand  the  construction  of  the 
thing  you  are  going  to  draw,  and  the  uses  of  the 
parts,  in  order  to  draw  it  well." 

"  Yes,  sir,"  said  Marielle  ;  "  only  if  I  knew  how 
to  draw  well  enough  to  copy  the  thing  exactly, 
then  it  would  not  be  necessary." 

"  True,"  said  Mr.  St.  John  ;  "  but  that  is  not 
possible.  Besides,  exactness  is  not  necessary  in 
all  respects.  There  are  certain  points  where  it  is 
necessary  to  be  exact.  There  are  others  where  it 
is  not  necessary.  And  if  you  know  the  construc- 
tion and  use  of  the  thing  which  you  are  drawing, 
your  knowledge  will  guide  you. 

"  For  example,"  continued  Mr.  St.  John,  "  take 
the  thole-pins.     It  is  essential  that  they  should 

11  * 


126  LUCY    ON    THE    SEA-SH,  RE. 

be  about  as  far  apart  as  the  thickness  of  an  oar 
But  it  is  not  essential  precisely  in  what  part  of  thi 
side  of  the  boat  they  are.  They  may  be  a  little 
farther  this  way,  or  that,  without  being  wrong.  So, 
if  you  are  making  a  mast,  it  must  be  farther  forward 
than  the  middle  of  the  boat,  for  masts  must  always 
be  made  so.  But  if  you  were  making  a  man 
in  a  boat,  it  would  be  of  no  consequence  whethei 
you  placed  him  nearer  the  bows,  or  nearer  the  stern. 

"  It  is  so  with  all  other  kinds  of  objects,"  con 
tinued  Mr.  St.  John.  "  Unless  you  know  the' 
nature  and  uses  of  the  parts,  it  is  almost  impos- 
sible to  draw  them  correctly ;  and,  even  if  it  were 
possible,  it  would  require  altogether  more  labor 
and  care  to  do  it,  than  if  you  understood  your 
object  fully." 

"  I  don't  know  exactly  what  you  mean,  sir," 
said  Lucy. 

"  Why,  suppose  that  you  were  drawing  a  horse," 
he  replied,  "  and  there  is  a  man  upon  him  holding 
the  bridle  in  one  hand,  and  a  little  whip  in  the 
other.  Now,  the  lines  to  represent  the  bridle 
must  go  down  to  the  horse's  mouth  exactly,  for  a 
bridle  is  always  fastened  to  a  bit,  and  the  bit  is 
in  the  horse's  mouth.  Therefore,  though  you 
may  make  the  bridle  hang  in  almost  any  line,  as 
you  please,  still  it  must  end  exactly  at  the  horse's 


BOATING.  127 

mouth.     The  termination  of  the  lines,  therefore, 
which   are  meant  for  the  bridle,  is   one   of  the 
things    which   are   essential.     But  then,   on    the 
other  hand,  the  line  which  represents  the  whip 
.ash,  may  end  any  where." 

"  Yes,  sir,"  said  Lucy. 

"  Now,"  continued  Mr.  St.  John,  "  suppose 
that  you  were  going  to  copy  a  drawing  of  a  man 
on  horseback,  and  had  never  seen  a  horse,  and 
did  not  know  what  the  bridle  was  for,  or  the  whip  ; 
and  suppose  it  happened  that,  in  the  drawing, 
the  man  on  the  horse  was  holding  the  whip  out 
in  such  a  position  that  the  lash  of  it  came  just 
opposite  to  the  horse's  ear :  —  now,  you  would  ob- 
serve, undoubtedly,  that  the  end  of  the  lash  seemed 
to  touch  the  horse's  ear,  and  the  end  of  the  reins 
his  mouth,  but  you  would  not  know  which  was 
essential,  and  which  only  accidental ;  and  so  you 
would  have  to  take  just  as  much  pains  with  one, 
as  with  the  other.  But  if  you  understood  the 
nature  and  use  of  all  the  parts,  then  you  would 
brin"-  the  lines  for  the  bridle  down  to  the  horse's 
mouth,  exactly  ;  and  as  to  the  whip,  you  would 
rje  satisfied  with  having  it  in  somewhat  the  jaine 
position  that  it  was  in  the  original,  without  at- 
tempting to  bring  the  end  of  the  (ash  exactly 
opposite  to  the  ear  " 


128  LUCY    ON    THE     SEA-SHORE. 

"  1  should  think  she  might  make  it  exact,  almost 
as  easily,"  said  Marielle. 

"  Yes,  in  that  case  you  might,"  replied  Mr. 
St.  John.  "  I  took  a  very  simple  case  to  explain 
it  to  Lucy.  But  when  you  come  to  apply  the 
principle  to  all  the  parts  of  a  complicated  object, 
it  makes  a  great  deal  of  difference  whether  you 
understand  it  or  not,  in  respect  to  the  ease  and 
accuracy  of  your  drawing  of  it.  A  person  can- 
not draw  machinery  well,  unless  he  understand? 
machinery  ;  nor  ships,  unless  he  understands  some- 
ihing  about  the  rigging.  Therefore,  if  you  and 
Lucy  want  to  learn  to  draw  well,  you  must 
learn  all  you  can  about  the  construction  and  use 
of  every  thing  you  see,  —  at  least  of  every  thing 
which  you  ever  expect  to  have  to  draw." 


CHAPTER    XI. 
THE   LIGHTHOUSE. 

After  a  time,  our  party  began  to  approach 
towards  the  lighthouse.  Lucy  said  that  she  was 
glad  that  they  were  going  to  the  lighthouse,  for  it 
was  very  pleasant  there.  Besides,  she  could  see 
very  far  out  to  sea  from  the  rocks  near  the  light- 
house. She,  however,  asked  Mr.  St.  John  if  he 
knew  where  there  was  a  good  place  to  find  some 
shells. 

"  I  promised  Royal  some  shells,"  said  she, 
"  and  now  I  can't  find  any." 

"  Have  you  looked  about  upon  the  beach  ? " 
asked  Mr.  St.  John. 

"  Yes,  sir,"  said  Lucy,  "  I've  looked  in  a  great 
many  places,  and  I  can't  find  but  two." 

Luc)  had  found  two  shells,  or  rather  three,  for 
one  of  them,  though  it  seemed  to  be  a  sort  of  a 
shell,  was  very  different  from  any  others  which 
she  had  ever  seen.  It  was  almost  round,  like  a 
ball,  only  one  side  was  somewhat  flattened,  and 
in  the  flattened  side  there  vas  a  round  hole,  so 


130  LUCY    ON    TF1E    SEA-SHORE. 

that  she  could  see  inside.  It  was  hollow.  The 
shell  was  white,  and  pricked  all  over  the  surface, 
as  Lucy  said,  with  fine  holes  arranged  in  very 
regular  forms.     Lucy  said  it  looked  like  muslin. 

Just  as  Lucy  had  finished  telling  Mr.  St.  John 
about  her  shells,  she  observed  that  the  lighthouse. 
and  the  land  suddenly  began  to  sail  away  very 
fast,  sweeping  around  in  a  very  extraordinary 
manner.  The  lighthouse  island  had  been  before 
thein,  but  in  two  minutes  it  had  got  round  almost 
behind  them.  Lucy  was  astonished.  It  seemed 
as  if  the  land  had  really  sailed  away,  though  she. 
knew,  as  soon  as  she  reflected  a  moment  upon  it, 
that  the  land  could  not  sail  away.  On  looking 
around  her  attentively  a  moment,  she  observed 
that  the  boat  had  turned,  and,  instead  of  being 
pointed  towards  the  lighthouse,  it  was  moving 
directly  towards  a  large  island  which  lay  off  the 
shore. 

"  There  is  a  beach  on  the  outside  of  this  island," 
said  Mr.  St.  John  ;  "  we'll  go  and  see  if  there 
are  any  shells  there." 

The  island  was  long  and  narrow,  and  it  lay 
parallel  to  the  shore.  On  the  outside  was  a  long, 
sandy  beach.  Mr.  St.  John  landed  the  children 
near  the  end  of  the  island,  on  the  back  side,  where 
they  were  sheltered  from  theswel  of  the  sea;  and 


THE    LIGHTHOUSE.  \d\ 

then  they  walked  over  the  rocks  to  the  front 
side. 

The  attention  of  the  children  was  first  attracted 
to  the  magnificent  line  of  surf  which  fringed  the 
beach.  A  long  wave  would  roll  in,  swell  higher 
and  higher  as  it  approached  the  sand,  until  its  crest 
would  curl  beautifully  over  in  one  long  line ;  and, 
as  it  advanced  still  farther,  this  would  break  into 
a  roll  of  foam,  extending  along  the  beach  from 
end  to  end.  As  the  foam  subsided,  a  thin  sheet 
of  water  issued  from  it,  and  glided  swiftly  away 
up  the  sand.  When  its  force  was  spent,  it  would 
run  back  again  as  fast  as  it  came,  until  it  met 
another  wave  coming  up,  swelling  like  the  other, 
a«id  curling  over,  just  ready  to  break  into  foam. 

Lucy  had  seen  the  surf  break  in  upon  the  shore 
before ;  but  it  was  more  beautiful  in  this  place  than 
any  other.  She  watched  it  for  some  time  before 
she  began  to  look  for  shells.  Then  they  walked 
about  upon  the  sand,  above  the  reach  of  the  waves  ; 
and  both  she  and  Marielle  had  much  better  success 
than  they  had  had  before.  They  found  four  or 
five  shells  that  were  whole,  and  which  were  quite 
curious.  They  also  found  a  great  many  broken 
ones  :  but  these  they  threw  away.  Mr.  St.  John 
said  that  they  had  got  broken  by  the  force  of 
the  waves. 


132  LUCY    ON    THE    SEA-SHCRE. 

Then  they  went  back  to  their  boat,  and  the 
boys  rowed  thern  across  the  water  towards  the 
lighthouse.  The  lighthouse,  as  has  already  been 
mentioned,  was  upon  a  little  island  connected 
with  the  main  land  by  a  low  tongue  of  sand. 
The  landing-place  for  boats  was  round  on  the 
farther  side  from  where  they  were  coming  in  the 
boat,  so  that  they  had  to  go  entirely  around  it. 
The  front  part  of  the  island  was  rocky.  It 
would  have  been  difficult  to  land  here,  as  it  was 
exposed  to  the  swell  of  the  sea,  and  the  surf 
broke  upon  it  with  great  force.  At  this  time, 
indeed,  it  was  comparatively  very  calm  on  the 
water,  so  that  there  was  very  little  swell.  Still 
t  would  have  been  somewhat  dangerous  to  have 
attempted  to  land  there  ;  and  Mr.  St.  John  steered 
round,  entirely  outside  of  the  rocks,  where  the 
water  was  very  smooth.  As  they  passed  around, 
the  girls  had  beautiful  views  of  the  lighthouse,  on 
every  side  of  it.  Marielle  said  that  she  thought 
it  would  be  a  very  good  drawing-lesson. 

"  Yes,"  said  Mr.  St.  John,  "  you  might  s't 
here  in  the  boat  and  draw  it." 

"  Well,  sir,"  said  Lucy,  "  I  should  like  a 
picture  of  a  lighthouse  which  wa?  made  in  a 
boat" 


THE    LIGHTHOUSE.  Wc 

u  W  e'll  go  on  a  little  way,"  said   Mr.  St.  John, 
*  till  we  find  the  best  point  of  view." 

So  they  went  on.  As  they  gradually  rounded 
the  island,  and  came  towards  the  landing-place, 
they  saw  a  small  boat,  about  as  large  as  their 
own,  just  issuing  from  the  little  cove  in  which 
the  landing-place  was  situated.  There  was  a 
man  in  the  boat. 

"  Who's  that  coming  away  ? "  said  Lucy. 

"  That's   the  lighthouse-keeper,"  replied    Ma 
rielle. 

He  was  sitting  in  the  middle  of  his  boat,  work- 
ing both  the  oars  himself.  In  their  own  boat, 
one  boy  worked  one  oar,  and  the  other  the  other, 
and  Mr.  St.  John  sat  in  the  stern,  to  steer.  But 
the  lighthouse-keeper  worked  both  of  his  oars, 
and  there  appeared  to  be  nobody  to  steer.  He 
sat  with  his  back  to  the  bows  of  the  boat,  and 
the  handles  of  the  oars  crossed  each  other  be- 
fore  him. 

"  I  don't  see  how  he  can  tell  when  he  is  going 
on  to  the  rocks,"  said  Lucy. 

"  Or  how  he  can  steer  away  when  he  knows 
that  he  is  £oin£  on,"  said  Marielle. 

Just  then  they  saw  that  the  lighthouse-keeper's 
boat  had  got  out  of  the  cove  so  far  as  to  clear  a 
point  of  land  which  formed  one  of  the  boundaries 


!34  LUC?    ON    THE    SEA-SHORE. 

of  it,  or.  the  side  where  the  boat  of  Mr.  St.  Join? 
was  coming.  The  girls  saw  him  look  over  his 
shoulder  at  this  point  of  land.  Then  he  stopped 
rowing  with  the  oar  on  one  side,  that  is,  on  the 
side  towards  the  point  of  land,  and  continued  to 
row  with  the  other.  The  girls  saw  that  by  this 
means  he  pulled  his  boat  around  the  point,  and 
then  watched  it  over  his  shoulder.  He  passed 
alcrg  close  to  it,  and  so  came  on  directly  towards 
them. 

The  two  boats  passed  very  near  each  other. 
The  lighthouse-keeper  rested  on  his  oars  a  mo- 
ment as  he  parsed,  and,  holding  both  the  han- 
dles of  them  in  one  hand,  he  touched  his  cap  to 
Mr.  St.  John  and  the  young  ladies  with  the  other. 

"  Pleasant  afternoon,  sir,"  said  Mr.  St.  John. 

"  Yes,  sir,"  said  the  lighthouse-keeper ;  "  the 
water  is  as  smooth  as  a  pond." 

"  All  excepting  just  along  the  shore,"  said 
Lucy  to  Marielle,  in  a  low  voice. 

The  lighthouse-keeper  put  his  strength  to  his 
oars  again,  and  was  soon  beyond  hearing. 

Mr.  St.  John  went  on  a  short  distance  farther, 
and  then  tins  rocks  opened  in  such  a  way  that 
they  had  a  fine  view  of  the  lighthouse,  and  the 
dwelling-house  at  the  .foot  of  it,  with  the  rocks 
and  trees  around  ;  and  Mr.  St.  John  said  that  it 


THE    LIGHTHOUSE.  135 

would  be  an  excellent  point  of  view.  The  light- 
house-keeper's wife  was  sitting  under  the  porcha 
on  a  bench,  knitting.  Lucy  said  she  meant  to 
put  her  into  her  picture. 

They  took  out  their  drawing  materials,  and  con- 
tinued drawing  here  for  half  an  hour.  Mr.  St. 
John  sat  between  Lucy  and  Marielle,  and  gave 
them  his  advice  and  direction.  He  took  Lucy's 
pencil  very  often,  and  helped  her.  Marielle  looked 
over,  and,  by  seeing  him  draw  Lucy's  picture, 
she  learned  how  to  draw  her  own.  Thus  they 
were  going  on  very  well,  until,  at  length,  Lucy's 
was  nearly  finished,  and  Marielle's  about  half 
done  ;  for,  as  Lucy  herself  did  ver}'  little  to  hers, 
and  Mr.  St.  John  nearly  the  whole,  it  advanced 
faster  than  Marielle's. 

At  length  Lucy  began  to  be  tired  of  drawing 
there;  and,  besides,  she  recollected  that  she 
wanted  a  drink  of  water. 

"  Then,"  said  Mr.  St.  John,  "  we  will  put  you 
ashore,  and  }'ou  can  go  up  to  the  lighthouse,  and 
ask  the  woman  for  a  drink  of  water,  while  Mari- 
elle finishes  her  drawing  ;  and  I  will  finish  yours 
while  you  are  gone." 

4t  Well,  sir,"  said  Lucy. 

So  Marielle  stopped  drawing,  and  the  boys  put 


136  LUCY     ON    THE    SEA-SHORE. 

out  their  oars,  and  rowed  towards  the  shore,. 
They  landed  Lucy  in  the  cove,  on  a  little  sandy 
anding-place,  and  then  they  went  back  again  to 
their  station,  while  Lucy  climbed  up  to  the  grass 
ground  above  the  rocks,  and  made  her  way  to- 
wards the  house, singing. 

"  Who's  coming  there  ? "  said  old  Mrs.  Star 
as  Lucy  approached.     "  Is  that  you,  Lucy  ?  " 

"  Yes,  ma'am,"  said  Lj.cy. 

"  Where's  your  mother  ?  "  said  the  womau. 

"  Mother  isn't  here.  I  came  in  a  boat,"  said 
Lucy.     "  We've  been  drawing  you." 

"  Drawing  me '  child  ?  What  do  you  mean  by 
that  ? " 

"  Why,  we're  making  a  picture  of  the  light- 
house, and  of  your  house,  and  of  you  sitting  al 
the  door,  knitting." 

The  old  lady  smiled,  and  asked  who  were  in 
the  boat ;  and  Lucy  told  her.  She  seemed  to  be 
much  interested  to  hear  about  the  drawing,  and 
said  that  she  wished  she  could  see  the  pictures 
when  they  were  done. 

"  I'm  sorry  you  can't  see,"  said  Lucy  "  How 
ong  nave  you  been  blind  ? " 

"  Four  or  five  years,"  said  the  woman. 

"  Can't  you  see  at  all  ?  "  asked  Lucv 


THE     LIGHTHOUSE.  137 

"  No,"  replied  the  woman  "only  just  to  teL 
day  from  night.  I  can  tell  when  the  sun  shines, 
and  when  it  is  cioudy." 

Here  there  was  9  pause.  Lucy  looked  at  the 
woman  with  a  countenance  of  concern,  and  then 
said,  — 

"  I  should  think  you  had  better  get  some 
spectacles." 

"  Dear  soul,"  said  the  woman,  "  spectacles 
wouldn't  do  me  any  good." 

"  Why,  did  you  ever  try  them  ?  "  said  Lucy. 

"  No,"  said  me  woman. 

"  Then  you  can't  be  swrc,"  said  Lucy,  "  un- 
less you  have  tried." 

*  Why,  child,"  said  the  woman,  "'spectacles 
are  good  for  the  sight ;  but  they  won't  help  eyes 
that  haven't  got  any  sight  in  them  at  all." 

"  I  mean  to  ask  Lady  Jane  to  lend  me  hers, 
the  next  time  I  come  down,  and  let  you  try," 
said  Lucy.     "  It  will  not  do  any  harm  to  try." 

"  No,  no,  child !  nonsense,"  said  Mrs.  Star. 
"  But  I'll  tell  you  what  to  do.     Can  you  read  ?  " 

"  Yes,  ma'am,"  said  Lucy. 

"Then  bring  down  one  of  your  little  story- 
Dooks,  and  read  me  a  story." 

"  Well,"  said  Lucy,  "  I  will.  We  ve  got  some 
12* 


138  LUCY    ON    THE    SEA-SHORE. 

books  ;  only  they're  Marielle's ;    but  she  w;ll  let 
me  bring  one  down,  I  know." 

"Where  is  Marielle  ?  "  said  the  woman. 

"O,  she's   out   in   the   boat,"   replied   Lucy, 
"  finishing  her  drawing." 

"  What  made  you  come  ashore  without  her  ?  " 
said  the  woman. 

"  Why,  I  wanted  some  water  to  drink.     Have 
you  got  any  water  in  your  house  ?  ' 

"  Yes,"  said  the  woman  ;  "  I'll  give  you  some 
water  ;  but  you  must  go  and  get  it  yourself." 

"  Where  is  the  water  ? "  asked  Lucy. 

"  It  is  down  cellar,"  said  the  woman,  "  in  a 
barrel." 

"  In  a  barrel  ? "  repeated  Lucy. 

"  Yes,"  said  the  woman  ;  "  go  into  the  house, 
and  look  on  the  dresser." 

"  The   dresser  ?  "   said   Lucy.     "  What   is   a 
dresser  ?  " 

"  Why,  don't  you  know  what  a  dresser  is, 
child  ?  It  is  the  shelves  where  I  keep  my  dishes 
The  dresser  is  at  the  back  side  of  the  kitchen 
Look  on  the  second  shelf,  by  the  window,  and 
you'll  find  a  mug.  It's  next  to  my  wooden 
oowl.  Then  you  must  open  the  door  by  the  side 
of  the  fireplace,  and  you'll  see  the  cellar  stairs. 
Right  at  the  foot  of  the  stairs  vou'll  see  a  barrel 


THE    L1GHTHOLSE.  141 

painted  red,  with  a  plug  in  the  end  of  it.  You 
must  puli  out  the  plug ;  then  the  water  will  run. 
You  can  hold  your  mug  under,  and  catch  as  much 
as  you  want,  and  then  put  in  the  plug  again." 

Lucy,  having  received  these  directions,  went 
timidly  into  the  house.  She  felt  somewhat  un- 
certain how  she  should  accomplish  so  delicate  an 
operation  ;  and,  if  the  old  lady  had  not  been  blind, 
she  would  have  asked  her  to  go  down  and  get  the 
water  for  her.  But,  as  she  was  so  blind,  she 
thought  she  might  fall  down  the  cellar  stairs ;  and 
so  she  concluded  that  it  was  better  for  her  to  go 
herself.  She  accordingly  went  in,  while  the  wo- 
man remained  at  her  place  knitting,  aud  listening 
to  Lucy's  footsteps. 

She  heard  her  go  to  the  dresser,  and  take  the 
mug,  and  then  open  the  cellar  door.  She  heard 
her  footsteps  distinctly,  as  she  slowly  and  cau- 
tiously went  down,  one  step  after  another,  until  she 
reached  the  foot  of  the  stairs.  Then  there  was  a 
long  pause. 

"  Can't  you  get  the  plug  out  ?  "  asked  the  old 
woman,  in  a  loud  voice. 

There  was  no  answer.  Perhaps  Lucy  did 
not  hear. 

"  Work  it  a  little  back  and  forth,  and  then  it 
will  come  out,"  said  the  blind  woman 


142  LUCY    ON    THE    SEA-SHORE. 

Here  there  was  another  pause  ;  and  then  prettv 
soon  she  thought  she  heard  the  running  of  the. 
water  into  the  mug ;  but  just  as  she  was  beginning 
to  think  that  the  sound  continued  lather  too  lono- 
she  heard  an  outcry,  in  Lucy's  voice,  coming  up 
from  the  cellar. 

"  O  dear  me !  O  dear  me !  all  your  water  is 
spilling." 

The  old  woman  jumped  up,  went  into  the 
house,  walked  rapidly  across  the  floor  with  her 
arms  extended  before  her,  reached  the  cellar 
stairs,  and  descended,  and  before  Lucy  had  time 
to  think  what  was  to  be  done,  she  took  hold  of 
the  head  of  the  barrel  with  one  hand,  and  put 
the  thumb  of  the  other  hand,  in  an  instant,  over 
the  hole  from  which  the  water  was  issuing  The 
stream  was  stopped  at  once. 

"  Where's  the  plug,  child  ? "  said  the  woman. 

"  Here,"  said  Lucy  ;  and  she  put  the  plug  into 
the  hand  which  the  woman  extended  to  receive 
it.  Mrs.  Star  put  the  plug  into  the  hole,  and 
crowded  it  in  hard. 

"  Have  you  got  enough  in  your  mug?  "  said  she. 

"  Yes,  ma'am,"  said  Lucy  ;  "  only  I'm  very 
sorry  I've  spilt  so  mucn  of  your  water." 

"O,  that's  no  matter,"  said  she;  "there's 
plenty  more." 


THE    LIGHTHOUSE.  143 

k  But  what  do  you  have  your  water  in  a  barrel 
for  ?  "  said  Lucy.  "  Why  don't  you  have  a  well, 
or  a  pump  ? " 

"  What,  a  well  down  through  these  rocks, 
child  ?  "  said  the  woman. 

She  went  up  stairs,  Lucy  following  her  slowly, 
drinking  by  the  way.  When  she  had. drank  as 
much  water  as  she  wanted,  she  put  the  mug 
down  upon  the  table,  as  the  woman  told  her  to, 
and  then  went  out  upon  the  porch,  and  they 
began  to  talk  together  again. 

"  We  went  out  to  an  island,"  said  Lucy,  "  to 
find  some  shells,  but  we  couldn't  find  many." 

"  No,"  said  the  woman  ;  "  there  are  no  shells 
on  these  coasts.  You  must  go  to  the  East  Indies 
if  you  want  to  find  shells." 

"  Are  there  a  great  many  shells  in  the  East 
Indies  ? "  asked  Lucy. 

"  Yes,"  replied  the  woman  ;  "  I  used  to  have  a 
bag  full,  that  some  sailors  gave  me." 

"  What  did  you  do  with  them  ?  "  said  Lucy. 

"  I  don't  know,"  said  the  woman.  "  They 
are  about  the  house  now,  somewhere.  If  I  could 
find  them,  I  would  give  them  to  you." 

"  Well,"  said  Lucy,  "  I  wish  you  could  find 
ihem." 

"  Let  me  see,"  said  the   woman.     "  Perhaps 


144  LUCY    ON    THE    SEA-SHORE. 

they  are  in  the  back  cupboard,  on  the  upper  shelf. 
I'll  go  and  see.5i 

So  she  rose,  and  went  out  with  Lucy  into  a 
back  room  where  there  was  a  closet.  She  opened 
the  door,  and  placed  a  chair  there. 

"  Now,  Lucy,  you've  got  eyes ;  so  you  may  get 
up  in  the  chair  and  look.'' 

Lucy  climbed  up  in  the  chair. 

"  Look  on  the  top  shelf,  farther  end.  What 
do  you  see  ?  " 

"  I  see  a  box,"  said  Lucy. 

"  Yes ;  now,  what  is  there  besides  the  box  ?  ' 

"  There  is  a  tin  pail,1'  said  Lucy. 

"  Yes,"  said  the  woman  ;  "  that's  my  old  pail. 
There's  a  hole  in  the  bottom.  Is  there  any  thing 
beyond  the  pail  ?  " 

Lucy  reached  up,  and  moved  the  pail  one  way 
and  the  other ;  but  there  was  nothing  beyond  it. 
On  the  other  end  of  the  shelf  there  were  two  or 
three  bundles  of  herbs,  but  no  bag. 

"Then  they're  lost,"  said  the  woman.  "At 
least,  if  they're  not  on  that  shelf,  1  don't  know 
any  thing  about  them.     Stop,  look  in  the  pail." 

It  was  very  fortunate  that  Mrs.  Star  happened 
to  think  to  ask  Lucy  to  look  in  the  pail ;  for  there 
the  bag  of  shells  was,  safe.  Lucy  pulled  it  out 
by  its  string.  It  was  pretty  large ;  as  large  as  a 
work-ba^. 


THE    LIUJiHOUSE.  145 

Lucy  got  down  upon  the  floor,  and,  resting  the 
bag  upon  the  chair  where  she  had  been  standing> 
she  pulled  the  mouth  of  it  open,  and  looked  in. 

"  O,  what  beautiful  shells  !  "  said  she.  "  Let 
me  pour  them  all  out  upon  the  table." 

"  No,"  said  Mrs.  Star ;  "  you  can  look  at  them 
after  you  get  home.  They  are  for  you  and  your 
brother  Royal  together." 

"  Well,"  said  Lucy.  So  she  thanked  Mrs. 
Star  for  the  shells,  and  bade  her  good  afternoon, 
and  then  ran  along  down  to  the  shore.  They 
came  in  for  her,  with  the  boat.  She  told  them 
the  story  of  the  shells,  and  they  showed  her  their 
drawings.  Lucy  was  very  much  pleased  with 
hers.  Mr.  St.  John  had  finished  it  in  a  very  beau- 
tiful manner.  He  had  not  only  drawn  the  old 
lady  sitting  in  the  porch,  but  Lucy  herself  also, 
standing  by  her  side,  talking  with  her.  Lucy 
saia  that  she  was  very  much  pleased  with  he? 
picture,  and  that  she  was  very  much  obliged  to 
Mr.  St.  John  for  helping  her  make  it.  And  then 
they  put  up  all  the  papers,  and  the  boys  rowed 
!hem  home. 

i3 


346 


CHAPTER    XII. 

GOING  TO  TOWN. 

Lady  Jane  often  sent  to  the  city,  while  sh*s 
was  at  the  sea-shore  ;  and  the  day  after  Marielle 
and  Lucy  took  their  excursion  with  Mr.  St.  John, 
she  went  herself.  When  she  came  back,  the 
first  question  which  Marielle  asked  was,  how 
Willie  did.  Her  mother  told  her  that  he  was  a 
great  deal  better,  and  that  in  a  day  or  two  she 
was  going  to  send  Parker  in  the  carriage  to  bring 
him  and  his  mother  to  the  sea-shore. 

"  Are  they  coming  to  this  very  house  ?  "  asked 
Lucy. 

"  Yes,"  said  Lady  Jane,  "  and  Parker  is  going 
to  contrive  some  way  to  get  his  little  carriage 
brought  here,  so  that  you  and  Lucy  can  draw  him 
on  the  beach." 

"  Yes,  Lucy,"  said  Marielle,  "  so  we  will. 
And,  mother,"  she  continued,  '  why  can't  Lucy 
and  I  go  with  Parker  when  he  goes  to  bring 
them      There  will  be  room.     We  can  ride  on  the 


GOING    TO    TOWN.  147 

front  seat,  and  aunt  Mary  and  Willie  on  the  bark 
seat." 

"  Very  well,"  replied  her  mother ;  "  I  have  no 
objection." 

The  plan  was  therefore  so  arranged.     Parker 
drove  up  to  the  door  one  pleasant  morning,  im- 
mediately after  breakfast,  and  took  Marielle  and 
Lucy  in.     They  were  very  much  pleased  at  hav 
ing  the  carriage  entirely  by  themselves. 

"  There  is  a  whole  seat  for  each  of  us,"  said 
Marielle. 

"  Yes,"  said  Lucy ;  "  I'll  have  the  front  seat, 
and  you  shall  have  the  back." 

After  riding  in  this  way  a  short  time,  Lucy 
concluded  it  would  be  pleasanter  to  ride  on  the 
back  seat  with  Marielle,  and  so  she  took  her 
place  by  her  side.  Thus  they  could  look  out 
the  window,  and  see  the  country,  and  the  persons 
who  met  them  on  the  road. 

The  horses  trotted  off  very  fast,  and  after  about 
two  hours,  they  began  to  draw  rapidly  n«ar  to  the 
city.  They  reached  it  without  any  accident, 
excepting  that  they  were  delayed  a  fevi  minutes 
by  a  cause  which  interested  Lucy  wry  much. 
Parker  had  stopped  a  moment  to  pay  t  )11  at  one 
end  of  a  bridge,  though  it  was  not  the  s;  me  bridge 
that  they  had  passed  over  when   they  first  went 


148  LUCY    ON    TriE    SEA-SHORE. 

.nto  the  city  ;  and,  afte,:  going  on  a  few  steps 
ne  stopped  again.  Lucy  put  her  head  out  of  the 
window  in  order  to  see  what  was  the  matter. 
She  saw,  to  her  surprise,  a  long  train  of  carriages 
before  them,  extending  a  great  distance  forward, 
on  the  bridge. 

"  Why,"  said  Lucy,  "  we're  in  a  funeral." 
Marielle  looked    out   of  the   window    herself, 
immediately  on  hearing  this  announcement. 

"  No,  indeed,  Lucy,"  said   she ;  "  this  is'nt  a 
funeral ;  only  the  draw  is  up." 

"  The  draw,"  said  Lucy  ;  "  what  is  the  draw  ?  " 
"  Why,  the  place  where  the  vessels  go  through 
the  bridge,"  replied  Marielle.  "  Here  is  a  part 
of  the  bridge,  which  they  hoist  up  when  vessels 
want  to  go  through  ;  and  then  the  carriages  have 
to  wait  until  the  vessel  is  through.  And  they 
are  all  standing  here  in  a  line  waiting." 

Lucy  looked  out  again,  and  she  could  now  see 
that  all  the  vehicles  before  them  were  not  car- 
riages. There  were  wagons,  and  3arts,  and 
chaises,  and  one  or  two  men  on  horseback.  She 
saw  now,  plainly,  that  it  could  not  be  a  funeral 
Hesides,  she  could  see,  away  before  this  long  row 
of  equipages,  a  part  of  the  bridge  standing  up 
like  a  wall,  before  them.  It  had  been  raised  into 
i  perpendicular  position,  s<r   as  to  open  a  space 


GOING    TO    TOWN.  14^ 

for  the  vessels  to  go  through.  Above  this  slip, 
saw  the  mast  and  rigging  of  a  vessel,  which  was 
slowly  sliding  alono;  through  the  bridge. 

The  carriage  was  very  near  one  side  of  tb*-. 
bridge,  and  Lucy  observed  that  all  the  other  car 
riages  and  wagons  before  them  were  also  upon  one 
side.  See  looked  out  of  the  other  window,  and 
saw  that  the  other  side  of  the  road  was  entirely 
unoccupied.  The  children  wondered  why  they 
all  kept  to  one  side  of  the  road  so  much.  While 
they  were  looking  out,  a  chaise,  with  two  gentle- 
men in  it,  came  up  behind  them,  and  stopped, 
and  presently  another  carriage,  with  several  chil- 
dren looking  out  of  the  window  of  it.  Still  they 
all  kept  in  one  half  of  the  road,  and  left  the  other 
half  entirely  empty. 

"  Parker,"  said  M arielle,  "  I  wish  you  would 
turn  out  of  this  row,  and  drive  along  to  the  draw, 
and  let  us  see  the  vessel  sail  through." 

"  It  is  not  allowed,  Miss  Marielle,"  said  Parker 
"  I  should  be  in  the  way  of  the  other  train." 

Neither  Marielle  nor  Lucy  understood  what 
he  meant  by  the  other  train  ;  but  there  was  so 
much  noise  and  movement  the  e  that  they  could 
not  talk  very  conveniently,  and  so  they  did  not 
ask  him.  They  therefore  watched  the  mast  and 
"gging  of  the  vessels  as  well  as  they  could  from 


150  LUCY    ON    THE    SEA-SHORE. 

where  they  were.  The  bowsprit  first  came 
through;  then  the  bows  of  the  vessel  appeared 
gliding  slowly  along  ;  tl  en  the  deck,  with  sev 
eral  sailors  upon  it,  pushing  against  the  bridge 
with  poles ;  finally,  the  whole  vessel  came 
through,  and  then  Lucy  expected  to  see  the  part 
of  the  bridge  which  had  been  raised,  fall  down 
with  a  great  noise.  But  it  did  not.  It  began  to 
move  a  little,  and  Lucy  heard  the  rattling  of  a 
chain.  It  continued  to  descend  slowly,  till  it 
reached  its  place ;  and  Lucy  saw  another  part  of 
the  bridge,  on  the  other  side  of  the  opening, 
which  had  also  been  raised,  and  which  now 
descended  at  the  same  moment,  to  meet  this  part ; 
and  so  both  came  down  into  their  places  together. 

Just  at  that  moment,  the  long  procession  of 
wagons  ^nd  carriages  began  to  move  on,  and 
Lucy  and  Marielle  saw  that  there  was  another 
just  such  a  train  coming  the  other  way.  Now 
they  saw  what  the  reason  was  that  they  left  one 
half  of  the  bridge  clear,  and  what  Parker  meant 
by  the  other  train.  If  Parker  had  left  the  line,  and 
gone  on  towards  the  draw,  as  Marielle  had  pro- 
posed, they  would  have  been  run  over,  as  Lucy 
said,  by  all  those  carriages. 

Parker  had  to  go  slowly  for  a  few  minutes,  foi 
those  before  him  went  slowly.     Lucy  and  Mari 


GOING    TO    TOWN.  151 

elle  were  both  glad,  for  they  could  see  the  train 
which  was  passing  them.  First  came  a  stage- 
coach, with  several  men  mounted  upon  the  top, 
behind  the  driver,  and  a  large  number  of  trunks 
piled  up  on  a  rack  behind  ;  next  came  a  car 
ria^e  with  two  ladies  in  it,  wino-  to  take  a  ride  in 
the  country  ;  next,  a  gentleman  in  a  chaise ;  and 
then  a  great  wagon,  heaped  up  very  high  with 
boxes  and  bales  of  cotton  ;  then  a  cart  loaded 
with  coal,  and  another  empty  cart,  with  a  man 
and  a  boy  sitting  upon  a  board  placed  across  it, 
from  one  side  to  the  other ;  finally,  there  came 
a  chaise,  with  the  top  down,  and  a  lady  and  gen- 
tleman in  it,  drawn  by  a  gay-looking  horse. 
This  was  the  end  of  the  train.  A  few  minutes 
afterwards,  Parker  drove  off  the  bridge,  and  the 
carts  and  carriages  scattered  in  all  directions  over 
the  city.  In  about  ten  minutes,  they  stopped  at 
the  door  of  the  house  where  Willie  lived. 

As  the  carriage  stopped,  they  saw  Willie  at  the 
front  window.  He  clapped  his  hands,  and  called 
out,  — 

"  Here  they  come,  mother  !  here  they  come  !  " 

At  this  moment,  Washington  opened  the  door, 

and  received  Marielle  and  Lucy  with  a  smiling 

face  and  many  polite  bows.     They  went  in,  and 

found  Willie  very  much  better  than  he  was  when 


152  LUCY    ON    THE    SEA-SHORE. 

they  left  him  He  was  much  pleased  with  Hit 
idea  of  going  to  the  sea-shore  ;  and  the  first  thins 
he  said  was,  that  his  carriage  was  going  to  bs 
taken  down,  and  he  wanted  to  know  if  Mariell/ 
and  Lucy  would  give  him  a  ride  on  the  beach 
when  they  got  there. 

"  Yes/'  said  Lucy,  "  we'll  draw  you  down  to 
the  lighthouse.  It  is  a  beautiful  place,  at  the 
lighthouse,  —  and  Mrs.  Star  will  be  very  glad  to 
see  you,  I  know.  Only,"  added  Lucy,  despond- 
ingly,  after  a  moment's  pause,  "  she  cannot  see  at 
all.  But  she'll  be  glad  to  have  you  come,  I 
know." 

But  Willie  did  not  pay  much  attention  to  this. 
He  went  capering  about  the  room,  and  whipping 
the  carpet  with  a  little  whip  which  he  had  in  his 
hands.  He  played  with  Marielle  and  Lucy  about 
half  an  hour  in  the  parlor,  and  then  they  all  went 
up  into  the  room  where  they  had  visited  him 
before,  when  he  was  sick.  They  found  that  the 
nurse  had  gone,  and  in  her  stead  was  a  young 
woman  named  Martha,  who  had  the  care  of  Wil- 
liam. Marielle  and  Lucy  played  in  this  room  a 
little  while,  and  then  Martha  told  them  they  had 
better  go  down  into  the  parlor,  because  she  was 
going  to  put  Willie  to  sleep.  His  mother,  sh* 
said,  wisned  him  to  go  to  sleep  before  dinner 


GOING    TO    TOWN.  153 

So  Marielle  and  Lucy  went  down  into  the 
parlor,  and  in  a  few  minutes  they  went  from  the 
parlor  into  the  library,  and  began  to  look  at  the 
shells  in  the  drawers  again.  They  had  examined 
all  the  shells  which  Mrs.  Star  had  given  Lucy, 
and  this  had  increased  their  interest  very  much  in 
the  forms  of  shells.  They  wished  to  see  whether 
those  in  the  drawer  were  like  the  ones  in  Lucy's 
bag.  They  found  several  in  the  drawers  which 
were  similar  to  Lucy's,  and  Marielle  said  that 
they  meant  to  go  and  ask  her  aunt  Mary  what 
the  names  of  them  were.  She  went  to  find  her ; 
but  her  aunt  told  her  she  did  not  know  the  names 
of  any  of  the  shells,  and  that  they  were  very  hard 
names  to  learn  and  remember.  Besides,  she  said 
she  could  not  come  then,  as  she  was  busy  making 
preparations  to  go  to  the  sea-shore. 

Parker  had  orders  to  bring  the  carriage  to  the 
door  immediately  after  dinner.  He  was  punctual ; 
for,  when  they  left  the  dinner-table,  and  came  to 
the  window  to  see,  they  found  him  there,  all 
ready.  Washington  was  carrying  out  parcels  of 
various  kinds :  among  other  things,  he  took  out 
a  small,  black  trunk,  and  put  it  under  Parker's 
seat.  Tnere  was  a  basket,  wjth  a  doth  over  it. 
which  Marielle  told  Lucy  was  full  oi  oranges. 
She  ha^  '<:en  Martha  put  them  up. 


154  LUCY    ON    THE    SEA-SHORE. 

Presently  they  all  got  into  the  carnage.  Martha 
got  in  too,  as  she  was  going  in  order  to  take  care 
of  Willie.  She  sat  on  the  front  seat,  in  one 
corner,  and  held  Willie  in  her  lap,  so  that  he 
could  see  out  of  the  window.  Marielle  and  Lucy 
tried  to  explain  to  him  ahout  the  lighthouse,  and 
Mrs.  Star  ;  but  he  was  too  young  to  understand 
much  about  it,  and  he  did  not  pay  much  atten- 
tion. He  preferred  looking  out  of  the  \\  indow, 
and  he  called  upon  Marielle  to  admire  every 
thing  he  saw.  He  had  been  shut  up  in  his  sick 
room  a  long  time,  and  now  he  was  delighted  to 
get  out  again,  where  he  could  feel  the  fresh  air, 
and  see  the  various  objects  which  attracted  his  ,* 
attention,  as  they  rode  along  out  of  the  city. 

"  Aunt,"  said  Marielle,  "  I  wish  you  would  go 
down  to  the  lighthouse  with  us,  and  let  us  draw 
Willie  there  in  his  carriage." 

"  How  far  is  it  ? "  said  her  aunt. 

"  Only  about  a  mile,"  said  Marielle. 

"  O,  that's  too  far  for  me  to  walk,"  said  hei 
aunt ;  "  but  Martha  may  go  with  you." 

"  WTell,  if  she  will,"  said  Lucy.  "  Will  you 
go,  Martha  ? " 

"  Yes,"   said   Martha :    "I  should  like  to  g 
very  much." 


GOING    '10    TOWN.  15f» 

• 

"  And  I'll  carry  down  my  book,"  said  Lucy, 
1  and  read  Mrs.  Star  a  story,  as  1  promised  her  I 
vvould.'' 

"  Yes,;>  said  Marielle,  u  and  carry  by"k  iier 
oag." 

"  Her  bag  ?  "  said  Lucy  ;  "  I  think  she  meant 
to  have  me  keep  the  bag." 

"  Did  she  give  it  to  you  ?  "  said  Marielle. 

•'  Why,  no,"  said  Lucy,  "  not  exactly.  That 
hs,  she  didn't  say  any  thing  about  the  bag.  She 
gave  me  the  shells  and  the  baj{  all  toarether." 

"  Then  I  think  you  had  better  carry  the  bag 
back,"  said  Marielle.     "  Don't  you,  aunt  ?  " 

';  Why,  that  would  be  safer,"  said  her  aunt, 
"  if  Lucv  is  not  sure  that  she  meant  that  she 
should  keep  it." 

"  I  would."  said  Marielle ;  "  and  then,  Lucy, 
yTou  can  put  something  in  the  bag,  for  a  present  to 
her  in  return. ', 

''■  So  I  can,"  said  Lucy.  "  What  would  you 
put  in  ?  " 

"  I  don't  know.  What  would  you  put  in  it, 
aunt?" 

"  O,  fill  it  with  oranges,"  said  her  aunt. 

"  Only  I  haven't  got  any  oranges,"  said  Lucy. 
T'here  are  plenty  in  a  basket  here,  under  the 


156  LUCY    ON   THE    SEA-SHORE. 

seat,"  replied  she  ;  "you  may  have  some  of  these. 
I  think  the  old  lad}'  will  like  some  oranges." 

"  Well,"  said  Luc}',  "  I  should  like  to  put  in 
some  oranges,  verj-  much  ;  and  I'm  going  to  cany 
down  my  book,  and  read  her  a  story,  too." 

"  Have  you  got  any  book  to  carry  down?" 
said  Marielle. 

"Yes,"  said  Lucy,  "  nry  elephant  book.  I 
brought  my  elephant  book  because  I  thought  I 
should  want  to  read  in  it  some  raiity  da}' ;  and 
I'm  going  to  read  '  Blind  Jack '  to  her,  because 
she  is  blind  herself,  and  I  almost  know  she  will 
want  to  hear  about  Blind  Jack." 

In  this,  and  in  similar  conversation,  the  time 
passed  swiftly  away  ;  and  they  reached  the  end 
of  their  journey  in  very  good  season. 


157 


CHAPTER    XIII. 

WILLIE'S   RIDE. 

A  day  or  two  after  Marielle' s  aunt  and  little 
Willie  came  down  to  the  sea-shore,  Marielle  and 
Lucy  were  drawing  Willie  hack  and  forth  in  the 
road  before  the  house,  when  Lucy  proposed  that 
the\-  should  go  that  da}T  down  to  the  lighthouse. 

"  Well,"  said  Marielle,  "  I'll  go  and  ask  my 
mother." 

"  And  I'll  go  too,"  said  Lucy. 

They  drew  Willie  just  inside  of  the  gate,  where 
he  would  be  safe,  and  told  him  to  wait  a  few 
minutes,  while  they  went  to  ask  his  mother  if  they 
might  take  him  to  ride.  So  Willie  sat  still, 
singing,  and  whipping  the  grass  with  his  little 
whip. 

Marielle  found  her  mother  and  her  aunt  sitting 
under  a  little  piazza  at  the  end  of  the  house, 
where  they  could  enjoy  the  cool  sea  breeze.  She 
made  known  her  proposal,  and  asked  her  moth- 
er's consent  that  she  and  Lucy  might  go,  and  her 
aunt's,  to  allow  them  to  take  Willie  in  his  carriage. 

"  And  we  want  to  take  something  to  eat,  and 
14 


158  LUCY    ON    liiE    SEA-SHORE. 

put  it  in  the  front  of  the  wagon,  and  so  not  come 
home  to  dinner,"  said  Marielle. 

"  How  far  js  it  ?  "  asked  her  aunt. 

"  It  is  about  a  mile,"  said  Lady  Jane.  "  It 
will  be  safe,  if  Martha  goes  with  them,  —  will  it 
not  ?  " 

"  Yes,"  said  Marielle's  aunt,  "  I  suppose  so. 
What  sort  of  a  place  is  it  down  at  the  lighthouje  ?  " 

"  I'll  show  you,"  said  Lucy.  "  I'll  go  and  get 
my  drawing  ;  and  then  you  can  see  it  exactly, 
and  Mrs.  Star,  too,  sitting  at  the  door." 

So  Lucy  went  up  stairs  to  get  her  drawing. 
Marielle  followed  her,  to  bring  down  hers,  too. 
They  got  their  drawings,  and  Lucy  brought  down 
her  elephant  book  at  the  same  time.  She  brought 
forward  her  drawing  eagerly,  and  held  it  out  for 
the  ladies  to  see.  Marielle  came  behind  her,  in 
a  more  modest  and  unassuming  manner. 

Her  mother  had  seen  the  drawings  before,  but 
her  aunt  seemed  much  surprised  when  she  looked 
at  Lucy's. 

"  Why,  whose  work  is  this  ? "  said  she. 

"  Mine,"  said  Lucy ;  "  that's  my  drawing, 
only  Mr.  St.  John  helped  me." 

"  And  he  helped  me  about  mine,  too,"  said 
Marielle. 

"  Yes,"  said  her  aunt.  "  I  understand.  Well, 
they  are  well  drawn,  and  I  think  the  lighthouse 
island  must  be  a  pleasant  place.  I  should  like  to 
go  there  myself  some  day." 

"  I'm  going  to  carry  down  my  elephant  book," 
said  Lucy,  "and  read  a  story  to  Mrs.  Star' 


WILLIE'?    RILZ.  lo\) 

v  And  the  bag  of  oranges,"  said  Marielle 
"  Aunt  is  going  to  give  us  some  oranges,"  she 
continued,  speaking  to  her  mother,  "  to  put  in 
the  bag  which  Lucy's  shells  came  in." 

"  But  let  me  see,"  replied  her  mother ;  "  is 
that  best?  She  gave  them  to  Lucy  as  a  present. 
Now,  if  you  carry  a  bag  back  full  of  oranges,  it  will 
look  a  little  like  paying  her.  I  think  I  wouldn't 
I  would  return  the  bag  empty,  and  thus  let  her 
have  the  satisfaction  of  doing  you  a  favor." 

Lucy  and  Marielle  looked  at  each  other  a 
moment,  as  if  in  uncertainty.  At  length,  Lucy 
said,  — 

"  But  I  want  to  give  her  some  oranges  very 
much." 

"  Very  well,"  said  Lady  Jane ;  "  there  will  be 
no  harm,  particularly,  in  it ;  though  I  thought 
that,  on  the  whole,  I  should  prefer  giving  them  to 
her  in  some  other  way,  or  at  some  other  time." 

"Well,"  said  Marielle,  "  let  us  give  her  the 
oranges  some  other  way.  We  can  think  of  some 
other  way  ;  and,  at  any  rate,  we  may  go  ? "  she 
added,  inquiringly, 

"  Yes,"  said  her  mother,  "  you  may  go  if  Mar 
tha  is  willing  to  walk  so  far  ;  but  if  she  finds  it  is 
too  far,  then  you  must  turn  round,  and  come  back 
whenever  she  says  it  is  b^st." 

So  the  girls  wen"  to  fend  Martha,  and  in  a  few 
minutes  they  were  setting  off;  Lucy  and  Mari- 
elle drawing  the  carriage,  with  Willie  upon  the 
seat,  their  luncheon  in  a  large  tin  box,  which, 
together   with  Lucy's  elephant  book,  was  placed 


160  LUOl    ON    THE    SEA-SHORE. 

before  him.  Martha  walked  along  by  the  side  of 
the  wagon.  They  soon  reached  the  beach,  and 
began  to  follow  it  towards  the  lighthouse,  the 
wheels  moving  very  easily  over  the  hard,  smooth 
sand. 

Martha  wanted  to  helo  th  cniidren  draw  the 
carriage  ;  but  they  were  not  willing.  They 
wanted  to  draw  Willie  themselves  alone.  When 
diey  came  opposite  to  the  castle  rock,  they  ex- 
plained to  Martha  how  they  got  imprisoned  there 
one  day  by  the  cows ;  and  they  asked  Martha  if 
she  would  go  out  upon  that  rock  with  them  some 
day.  They  could  not  go  then,  because  they 
wanted  to  make  the  best  of  the  way  to  the  light- 
house. 

When  they  reached  the  island,  they  drew  the 
carriage  up  to  the  door  of  Mr.  Star's  house,  in 
order  to  tell  Mrs.  Star  that  they  had  come,  and  to 
tell  her  about  Willie.  Lucy  and  Marielle  were 
both  very  sorry  that  she  could  not  see  him.  But 
she  said  that  she  was  very  glad  to  have  him  come, 
for  she  should  remember  his  voice  ;  and  that  she 
should  know  him  by  that  whenever  he  came 
again,  although  she  could  not  see  his  face.  Lucy 
told  her,  too,  that  she  had  brought  a  book  to  read 
her  a  story. 

"  And  wc  are  going  first  along  the  shore,"  said 
Marielle,  "  to  find  a  place  to  eat  our  luncheon, 
and  then  Lucy  is  coming  back  to  read  to  you." 

"  Very  well,"  said  Mrs.  Star ;  "  come  any  time 
when  you  are  ready." 

So  the  children  turned  the  carnage  away,  and 


VF1L.LIE  S    RIDE.  161 

went  towards  the  shore.  They  found  a  very 
pleasant  place  for  their  luncheon.  It  was  under 
some  shelving  rocks,  which  sheltered  them  from 
the  sun,  but  yet  allowed  them  a  full  prospect  of 
the  sea.  They  found  a  good,  smooth,  flat  stone 
for  a  table,  and  they  spread  their  things  upon  it, 
after  taking  them  out  of  the  tin  box.  There 
were  some  thin  slices  of  bread  and  butter,  some 
little  cakes,  and  an  orange  for  each  of  them. 
They  ate  their  dinner  very  happily,  watching, 
in  the  mean  time,  the  waves,  which  tumbled  and 
dashed  against  the  rocks  at  their  feet. 

When  the  dinner  was  ended,  Lucy  took  her 
book  and  went  to  read  her  story,  while  the  others 
remained  at  the  shore,  intending  to  ramble  about, 
and  pick  up  shells  and  pebbles.  Willie  found 
great  amusement  in  throwing  stones  into  the 
water,  —  little  stones  which  he  picked  up  on  the 
beach.  Now  and  then  a  boat  passed,  going  in  or 
out  of  the  bay  ;  and  they  could  see  several  large 
vessels  slowly  moving  on  in  their  various  courses 
in  tb's  minig. 

W  lii!e  they  were  thus  employed,  Lucy  went 
up  towards  }'rt  Star's  door.  The  old  lady  was 
sitting,  as  usual,  in  the  porch,  knitting.  She  heard 
Lucy  coming,  and  said,  — 

"  Well,  L^y,  it  seems  you  haven't  forgotten 
me." 

"  No,  ma'am,"  said  Lucy  ;  "  and  first  her^'i 
your  bag." 

H  What  bag  ?  "  said  the  old  lady 
14* 


162  LUCY    ON    THE    SEA-SHORE. 

"  Wiry,  the  bag  that  the  shells  were  in.  I've 
brought  the  bag  back." 

"  O,  3'ou  might  have  kept  the  bag,"  said  she. 
"  I  did  not  mean  to  have  you  bring  that  back. 
But  it's  all  well ;  perhaps  I  shall  want  it.  Put  it 
on  the  table  in  the  house,  and  I'll  put  it  away 
when  I  go  in.  Put  it  right  in  the  middle,  and 
then  I  can  find  it." 

So  Lucy  went  in,  and  put  the  bag  upon  the 
table,  as  exactly  in  the  centre  as  she  could,  and 
then  came  back,  and  took  her  seat  upon  the  step, 
w'hich  led  down  from  the  floor  of  the  porch  to  the 
ground,  and  opened  her  bool£. 

"  The  story  which  I  am  going  to  read  to  3Tou," 
said  Lucy,  "  is  Blind  Jack.  It  is  a  story  in  my 
elephant  book." 

'*  Blind  Jack?  "  repeated  the  old  lady. 

"Yes,"  said  Luc}*.  "He  was  a  blind  boy, 
and  his  name  was  Jack  ;  and  so  they  called  him 
Blind  Jack,  and  that  is  the  name  of  the  story. 
I  thought  you  would  like  to  hear  about  him." 

"  Yes,"  said  Mrs.  Star,  "  I  should.     Begin." 

So  Lucy  began,  and  read  the  story  of  Blind 
Jack,  as  follows. 


168 


CHAPTER    XIV. 

BLIND  JACK. 

"Once  there  was  a  boy.  and  his  name  wag 
Jack.  He  was  blind.  He  could  see  once,  when 
he  was  very  small ;  but  he  had  been  very  sick, 
and  at  the  end  of  his  sickness  he  was  blind. 

"Jack's  father  was  a  boatman,  and  he  lived 
near  the  sea-shore.  When  Jack  was  pretty 
small,  after  he  became  blind,  he  used  to  love  to 
go  down  to  the  shore,  and  sit  on  the  rocks,  and 
hear  the  surf  and  the  breakers.  He  learned  the 
way  down  to  the  shore  and  back,  so  that  he  could 
go  alone  very  well.  He  had  a  long  stick,  which 
he  used  to  hold  out  before  him,  and  feel  about  in 
the  path,  where  he  was  going  to  walk,  lest  there 
might  be  something  accidentally  in  the  way. 

"  At  last,  when  Jack  grew  larger,  his  father 
used  sometimes  to  take  him  out  with  him  in  his 
boat  when  he  went  a- fishing.  Jack  liked  to  go  a- 
fishing,  very  much.  One  day,  his  father  let  him 
try  to  fish,  and  he  caught  a  fish  very  soon.  He 
could  feel  the  fish  when  he  began  to  bite,  by  the 
little  pulling  which  he  made  at  the  lino  ;  and  so, 
when  he  felt  this  pulling,  he  drew  in  his  line  quick, 
and  found  that  lie  had  got  a  fish.  Then  his  fa- 
ther took  the  fish  off,  and  baited  his  hook  again. 


164  LUCT    ON    1HK    &EA-SHORE. 

and  let  him  fish  more.  Jack  found,  after  a  time 
that  he  could  take  the  fish  off  and  bait  his  hoob 
himself,  and  before  long  he  learned  to  fish  as  weJ. 
as  his  father. 

"  There  was  another  fisherman,  who  lived  near 
Jack's  father.  He  bad  a  boat,  too.  He  often 
jsed  to  take  his  boy  into  his  boat,  when  Jack'3 
father  and  Jack  got  into  their  boat,  and  so  they 
would  go  a-fishing  together.  They  would  go  out 
a  mile  from  the  shore,  and  anchor  their  boats  at  a 
short  distance  from  each  other,  so  that  they  could 
be  within  hearing,  and  there  they  would  remain 
many  hours,  fishing  in  company.  Sometimes  the 
Awe  men  would  be  in  one  boat,  and  the  two  bovs 
in  another,  and  sometimes  they  would  leave  Jack 
in  the  boat  alone,  or  the  other  fisherman's  boy 
alone ;  for,  in  such  cases,  the  other  boat  never 
went  away  far,  and  they  thought  there  was  no 
danger. 

"  One  afternoon,  while  they  were  fishing  about 
a  mile  from  the  shore,  none  of  them,  excepting 
Jack,  had  any  good  luck.  He  succeeded  in 
catching  several  fishes ;  but  the  rest  did  not.  So 
they  concluded  to  leave  Jack  in  one  boat  at 
anchor,  while  they  went  off  about  a  quarter  of  a 
mile,  in  the  other  boat,  to  another  place,  where 
they  thought  that  perhaps  they  could  catch  more 
fishes.  They  told  Jack  that  he  might  go  with 
them  if  he  pleased,  but  he  preferred  staying  where 
he  was.  They  said  that  they  should  come  back 
before  a  great  while,  and  that,  if  he  wanted  anv 


BLIND    JACK.  16o 


thing,  he  could  call ;  for  they  should  not  go  out  of 
hearing. 

"  They  went  to  the  new  place,  and  they  found 
that  there  were  a  great  many  fishes  there  ;  and 
they  caught  them  very  fast  for  about  half  an  hour, 
when  they  suddenly  observed  a  great  black  cloud 
in  the  sky  coming  towards  them  very  fast.  Then 
they  knew  that  there  was  going  to  be  a  squall.' 


>> 


"  >es,"  said  Mrs.  Star,  interrupting  Lucy  here 
m  her  reading.  "  Good  enough  for  them.  They 
ought  to  have  known  better  than  to  have  left  that 
poor  boy  out  there  all  alone." 

"  I  think  so,  too,"  said  Lucy  ;  "  but  what  is  a 
squall,  Mrs.  Star  ?  —  a  little  storm  ?  " 

"  O,  it's  a  great  gust  of  wind  that  comes  up 
suddenly.  A  squall  is  a  bad  thing  for  a  small 
boat  in  the  offing.  If  they  don't  look  out,  they'll 
get  blown  ofF." 

Lucy  did  not  reply  to  this  remark,  but  simply 
resumed  her  reading. 

"  They  immediately  drew  in  their  lines,  and 
pulled  up  their  anchor,  and  began  to  row  as  hard 
as  they  could  to  get  back  to  Jack.  But  before 
they  got  half  way  there,  the  squall  struck  them 
like  a  clap  of  thunder.  They  rowed  against  it. 
with  all  their  strength,  for  a  short  time ;  but  they 
found  that  it  was  of  no  avail.  They  were  drift- 
ing fast  out  to  sea.  So  they  had  to  give  up  the 
attempt  to  reach  Jack  again  Immediately,  and*  let 
go  their  anchor." 


166  LUCY    ON    THE     SEA-SHORE. 

"What  does  that  mean,  Mrs.  Star?"  said  Lu- 
cy, interrupting  herself,  and  looking  up  from  the 
book. 

"  Why,  dropping  the  anchor,"  replied  Mrs. 
Star,  "  so  as  to  hold  the  boat  till  the  squall  blew 
over." 

Lucy  seemed  satisfied  with  this  explanation, 
and  resumed  her  reading. 

"  They  let  go  the  anchor,  and,  as  soon  as  it 
reached  the  bottom,  and  got  hold  of  the  rocks,  it 
stopped  the  boat ;  and  the  wind  and  the  little 
waves  swept  by  them  with  great  fury.  They 
wanted  to  call  out  to  Jack,  to  tell  him  not  to  be 
afraid,  for  the  squall  would  be  over  in  a  few 
minutes,  and  then  they  would  come  back  to  him. 
But  they  knew  that  it  would  do  no  good  to  call 
to  him  ;  for  the  wind  and  sea  made  such  a  loud, 
roaring  sound,  that  it  would  be  impossible  to  make 
him  hear. 

"  But  they  had  not  been  many  minutes  in  this 
situation,  before  they  found  that  they  were  again 
in  motion.  They  suddenly  perceived  that  the 
boat  was  drifting  along  over  the  water  again,  as 
fast  as  ever." 

"  Yes,"  said  Mrs.  Star ;  "  she  dragged  her 
anchor.     I  thought  it  would  be  so." 

"  No,"  said  Lucy,  "  the  rope  broke." 

"  The  rope  broke  !  "  repeated  Mrs.  Star. 

a  Yes,"  said  Lucy  ;  "  you  shaJ  hear."  S*» 
Lucy  began  to  read  again. 


BLIND    JACK.  1(>7 

"  They  immediate])  went  to  the  bows  of  the 
ooat,  to  examine  the  rope  which  was  attached  to 
the  litwu  grapnel  that  served  for  an  anchor,  and 
/bund  -hat  it  had  parted  about  six  feet  under 
water. 

"  Parted  means  broke"  said  Lucy,  interrupt- 
ing herself  again,  to  explain  the  technical  term 
to  Mrs.  Star.     "  Royal  told  me." 

"  Ay,"  said  Mrs.  Star  ;  "  go  on." 

"  It  had  parted  about  six  feet  under  water.  It 
was  an  old  rope,  much  worn,  and  was  too  weak 
to  stand  the  strain.  So  the  men  found  that  they 
were  adrift,  and  going  out  to  sea  at  the  rate  of  six 
miles  an  hour. 

"  They  saw,  at  once,  that  they  could  not  row 
against  the  wind  as  long  as  it  continued  to  blow 
so  hard.  They  began  to  look  out  for  land  out- 
side of  them.  There  was  nothing  in  sight  in  the 
direction  in  which  they  were  going,  but  the  open 
sea,  except  one  island,  about  eight  miles  off;  and 
this  was  far  to  the  north  of  the  course  on  which  they 
were  drifting.  They  thought  that  their  only  hope 
of  avoiding  being  carried  away  out  to  sea,  was  to 
iow  to  the  north  as  hard  as  they  could,  so  as  to 
fetch  that  island,  if  possible.  They  therefore  put 
out  their  oars,  got  the  boat's  head  to  the  north- 
waid,  and  began  to  pull  for  their  lives. 

"  They  thought  that  the  wind  would  not  blow 
very  long,  for  such  squalls  were  commonly  over 
io  a  few    minutes ;   but   this  one    continued  un- 


168  LUCY    ON    THE     SEA-SHORE. 

abated  much  beyond  the  usual  time.  Anr?  wba1 
was  worse,  the  wind  gradually  changed  so  a?  fo 
blow  more  from  the  noth,  and  thus  it  headed 
them  off  from  the  island.  They  found,  in  three 
quarters  of  an  hour,  that  it  would  be  impossible 
to  reach  it ;  and  so  they  gave  it  up,  and  then 
turned  their  boat's  head  towards  the  shore,  and 
contented  themselves  with  rowing  moderately  to- 
wards it,  so  as  not  to  exhaust  their  strength,  and 
yet  to  do  something  to  prevent  their  drifting  quite 
so  rapidly  from  the  coast.  As  for  poor  Jack,  they 
did  not  know  what  would  become  of  him. 

"  Now,  Jack,  when  he  heard  the  squall  com- 
ing, knew  very  well  that  there  was  nothing  foi 
him  to  do  but  to  wait  till  his  father  returned.  He 
expected  to  hear  them  coming  every  moment, 
when  the  wind  first  began  to  blow ;  for  he  sup- 
posed that  they  would  have  seen  its  approach,  and 
so  have  tried  to  get  back  to  him  before  it  came 
on.  When  he  found,  however,  that  the  wind 
contiaued  heavy  and  strong  for  some  time,  he 
was  well  aware  that  they  could  not  row  against 
it ;  and  so  he  knew  that  he  must  wait  patiently 
until  it  was  over.  He  had  no  doubt  that  they 
would  be  able  to  anchor  wherever  they  were. 

"  By  and  by,  the  wind  subsided,  and  Jack 
knew,  by  a  sort  of  glow  which  he  always  perceived 
when  the  sun  was  shining,  that  the  clouds  had 
broken  away,  and  the  sun  had  come  out.  Now 
he  thought,  they  would  certainly  come.  But 
they  did  not.  He  waited  an  hour.  Then  it 
began    to    grow    dark    again.     He    knew   that   it 


P.J.IND    JACK.  169 

must  be  night,  or  else  that  more  clouds  were 
joming.  He  thought  it  must  be  night.  The 
tiir  was  very  calm  and  still.  The  water  was 
smooth,  too,  for  the  wind  had  not  blown  long 
enough  to  raise  the  sea;  and,  besides,  the  wind 
had  been  directly  off  the  shore. 

"Jack  did  not  know  what  to  do.  He  was 
sure  that  something  had  happened  to  his  father 
and  those  with  him  in  the  other  boat,  so  that  they 
could  not  come  back  for  him.  He  supposed  that 
the  next  morning  people  would  see  him  from  the 
shore,  and  come  off  for  him ;  but  then  he  did  not 
like  to  stay  out  there  all  night,  in  an  open  boat. 
A  storm  might  arise  in  the  night,  or  a  heavy  sea 
come  in  :  and  then  his  boat  mis;ht  be  torn  from 
its  moorings,  and  dashed  upon  the  rocks.  Still 
he  did  not  see  what  else  he  could  do. 

"  After  a  time,  he  thought  he  could  begin  to 
hear  the  distant  roar  of  the  surf  upon  the  shore. 
As  the  evening  advanced,  the  night  air,  which 
makes  all  sounds  more  distinct,  brought  this  sound 
out  to  him  more  and  more  plainly,  and  at  last  he 
began  to  think  that  he  might  make  it  a  guide  to 
conduct  him  back  to  the  shore.  Jack  could  row 
as  well  as  any  sailor.  He  liked  to  row,  and  he 
had  often  rowed  his  father  out  and  in,  on  their 
fishing  excursions.  Of  course,  he  had  to  depend 
upon  his  father  entirely  to  direct  the  boat,  as  he 
could  not  see ;  though  he  often  noticed,  as  he 
was  rowing  out,  that  the  sound  of  the  surf  was 
always  behind  them,  and  when  going  in,  that  the 
sound  was   before  them      So    he    pulled  up  his 


170  LUCY    ON    THE     SEA-SHORE 

anchor,  secured  it  in  its  proper  place,  coiled  up 
the  rope  neatly,  and  then  put  out  his  oars.  In 
a  moment  more,  his  boat  was  shooting  rapidly 
along  towards  the  land. 

"  He  had  no  difficulty  in  getting  pretty  near 
[he  land,  though  it  took  some  time.  At  first,  the 
sound  of  the  surf  was  very  faint  and  distant,  and 
he  had  to  stop,  now  and  then,  to  listen  for  it.  It, 
however,  grew  louder  and  louder,  and  at  last  he 
thought  he  was  very  near  the  shore.  The  sound 
seemed  very  loud  and  near.  Jack  advanced  to- 
wards it  very  carefully,  for  he  thought  it  possible 
that  the  sound  which  he  heard  might  be  that  of 
surf  breaking  over  some  sunken  rooks,  which  lay 
out  at  some  distance  from  the  shore. 

"  He  therefore  turned  his  boat,  and  rowed  off 
to  one  side  a  little  way  ;  and  he  found  that  he  was 
thus  moving  away  from  the  sound  which  he  had 
heard.  Then  he  stopped,  and  listened  again  ;  and 
he  could  distinctly  hear  another  roaring,  mucl 
farther  in.  So  he  concluded  that  the  sound  whic'V 
he  had  heard  before,  was  only  the  breakers  on  the 
rocks.  When  he  had  gone  so  far  to  one  side,  as 
to  get  well  beyond  the  breakers,  he  then  directed 
his  course  towards  the  shore  again.  He  gradually 
drew  nearer  and  nearer  to  the  roaring  of  the 
waves  on  the  shore.  He  knew  that  it  was  the 
shore,  for,  when  he  got  pretty  near,  he  could  hear 
tne  surf  not  only  directly  before  him,  but  the 
sound  seemed  to  extend  on  each  side,  very  far 
He  presumed,  therefore,  that  he  was  before  a  long 
Vie  of  beach,  with  the  waves  rolling  upon  it. 


BLIND    JACK.  171 

11  He  knew  very  well  that  it  would  not  be  safe 
for  him  to  attempt  to  land  through  this  surf.  He 
must  coast  along,  he  thought,  until  he  found  some 
opening  which  would  lead  him  into  a  bay,  where 
he  could  find  a  sheltered  place  to  land.  So  he 
began  to  row  himself  along  in  a  direction  parallel 
to  the  line  of  surf.  When  he  found  that  the 
roaring  of  the  surf  grew  louder,  he  knew  that 
he  was  drawing  too  near ;  and  when  it  grew 
less  loud,  he  inferred  either  that  he  was 
di  awing  off  from  the  shore,  or  that  the  shore 
itself  was  receding ;  and  in  that  case  he  turned 
in  more,  so  as  to  keep  near  the  line  where  the 
sea  was  breaking;. 

"  At  last,  he  heard  breakers  directly  before  him, 
while  the  sound  continued  unabated  along  the 
shore  by  his  side.  He  was  glad  to  hear  this,  for 
he  supposed  that  it  was  a  point  which  put  out  at 
that  place,  and  he  hoped  that,  if  he  could,  only  get 
round  it,  he  could  find  a  sheltered  bay  beyond,  or, 
at  least,  a  line  of  shore  not  so  much  exposed  to 
the  sea  as  where  he  then  was,  so  that  he  might 
land.  And  this  proved  to  be  the  case.  He  had 
some  difficulty  in  getting  round  the  point ;  but, 
when  he  did  get  round,  he  found  that  the  sound 
of  the  waves  rolling  upon  the  shore  was  much 
more  feeble,  although  it  seemed  equally  near. 
He  was  very  glad  to  find  that  this  was  so,  for  it 
was  getting  quite  dark,  and  this  made  him  feel 
very  lonely.  It  is  true,  he  could  not  see  enough 
to  be  of  any  service  to  him  in  finding  his  way  ; 
vet  the  sensation  of  light  in  his  eyes  was  pleasant 


172  LUCY    ON    THE    SEA-SHORE. 

and  cheering  ;  but  now,  when  it  became  utterl) 
dark,  bis  situation  began  to  seem  far  more  desolate 
jnd  gloomy. 

"  At  length,  he  appeared  to  come  to  a  place 
where  he  heard  nothing  but  a  ripple  on  the  shore, 
and  it  seemed  pretty  near  him,  too.  He  pushed 
the  blade  of  one  of  his  oars  down  into  the  water 
and,  to  his  great  joy,  he  found  that  he  could  toucr 
bottom.  In  a  moment  more,  the  bows  of  his  boat 
ran  up  gently  on  the  sand. 

"  He  stepped  out,  drew  his  boat  up  a  little  way 
and  groped  around.  He  found  that  he  was  upor 
a  broad  beach.  The  first  thing,  then,  he  knew, 
was  to  secure  his  father's  boat.  So  he  dragged  it 
up  as  far  as  he  could  out  of  the  water.  But  he 
could  not  draw  it  far.  He  judged,  from  the  con- 
dition of  the  beach,  that  the  tide  must  be  nearly 
out ;  and  he  was  afraid  that  it  would  come  and 
float  off  his  boat,  while  he  was  trying  to  find  his 
way  to  some  houses  on  the  land.  To  prevent 
this,  he  took  out  the  grapnel,  and  carried  it  up  on 
the  beach  as  far  as  he  could,  and  secured  it  in  the 
sand. 

"  Then  he  began  to  grope  his  way  along  to- 
wards the  bank.  His  first  object  was  to  find  some 
bushes  where  he  could  cut  himself  a  stick.  He 
could  always  walk  a  great  deal  better  with  a 
stick ;  for  by  means  of  it  he  could  feel  before  him, 
to  ascertain  whether  any  thing  was  in  the  way 
He  thought  that,  if  he  should  go  up  the  bank,  he 
should  get  a  stick  from  some  of  the  trees  or  bushes 
vhieh  might  be  growing  there. 


BLIND    JACK.  173 

"  He  found,  however,  that  the  bank  was  very 
steep  and  gravelly,  so  that  he  could  not  climb  up. 
The  foot  of  it  had  been  washed  away  by  the  sea, 
and  what  remained  was  almost  perpendicular,  and 
was  formed  of  loose  stones  and  gravel.  He  did 
not  know  how  high  it  was,  but  at  any  rate  it  was 
higher  than  he  could  reach.  So  he  concluded 
to  go  along  the  shore  a  little  way,  hoping  to  find 
a  place  where  the  bank  might  be  lower. 

"  He,  therefore,  returned  to  the  edge  of  the  wa- 
ter, and  began  to  walk  along  slowly  on  the  sand, 
when  he  happened  to  recollect  that  there  was  a 
boat-hook  in  the  boat,  which  he  thought  would 
answer  very  well  for  a  feeler.  He,  therefore, 
groped  his  way  back  to  the  boat,  and  took  out 
the  boat-hook.  This  boat-hook  was  a  pole, 
about  six  feet  long,  with  an  iron  point  in  one  end, 
and  also  a  hook  formed  on  the  same  piece  of  iron. 
It  was  to  be  used  when  the  boat  came  up  to  the 
rocks,  or  to  a  wharf,  or  to  another  vessel.  By 
means  of  the  point,  Jack's  father,  in  the  boat, 
could  push  against  a  rock,  or  a  timber,  and  fend 
off,  as  he  called  it,  so  as  to  prevent  the  boat's 
striking  too  hard  ;  and  with  the  hook  he  could 
catch  hold  of  some  edge,  or  projection,  where  he 
wanted  to  land,  and  so  draw  the  boat  up.  This 
boat-hook  was  rather  too  heavy  for  Jack  to  use 
as  a  feeler;  but  still,  as  he  could  not  find  any 
bushes  from  which  he  might  cut  a  slender  stick, 
he  concluded  that  he  could  make  it  do. 

"  He  walked  along  on   the  beach,  feeling  his 
*ay  with  the  boat-hook,  which  he  held  before  him 
15* 


174  LUCY    ON    THE    SEA-SHORE. 

He  Jbund  that  be  could  get  along  without  any 
trouble.  He  perceived,  also,  that  the  sound  of  the 
surf  grew  fainter  and  fainter,  as  if  he  was  leaving 
it  behind  him  ;  and  he  concluded  that  he  was 
going  along  the  shore  of  some  little  bay.  He 
was  glad  of  this,  for  he  knew  that  the  bay,  so  far 
as  it  extended,  would  conduct  him  in  where  he 
wanted  to  go  ;  for  the  road  on  which  all  the 
houses  were  situated,  was  nearly  a  mile  from  the 
shore,  and  parallel  to  it.  If  the  bay,  therefore, 
should  extend  a  quarter  of  a  mile  back,  it  would 
conduct  him  so  far  inland,  and  that,  too,  by  a 
beach  on  which  he  could  walk  much  more  easily 
than  over  uneven  ground. 

"  He  went  on  without  difficulty  for  some  dis- 
tance. At  last,  he  found  that  the  line  of  the  shore 
began  to  turn.  So  he  thought  that  he  had  got  to 
the  head  of  the  bay.  He  walked  about  very 
carefully,  examining  the  place  by  feeling  with 
his  boat-hook,  and  also  by  listening  to  the  surf; 
and  at  length  he  satisfied  himself  that  he  had 
arrived  at  the  head  of  the  bay.  He  knew,  there- 
fore, that  he  must  soon  leave  the  shore,  and  strike 
off  through  the  fields,  though  he  did  not  see  how 
he  could  guide  himself  so  as  to  go  on  in  a  straight 
line.  He  was  very  sorry  to  lose  the  sound  of  the 
surf.  It  had  not  only  thus  far  served  as  a  guide, 
but  it  had  been  a  great  deal  of  company  for  him. 
He  was  sorry,  therefore,  to  go  away  into  a  region 
of  utter  silence,  as  well  as  darkness ;  but  he  knew 
that  there  was  no  alternative. 

"  As  he  left  the  sandy  beach,  he  ascended  firsl 


BLIND   JACK.  175 

a  soit  of  ridge  covered  with  round  stones.  They 
had  been  washed  up  by  the  sea.  It  was  difficult 
walking  over  it.  After  he  had  passed  this  ridge, 
be  descended  again  a  little,  and  came  upon  a 
evel  place,  where  his  feet  sunk,  at  every  step, 
into  loose  sand.  He  soon  crossed  this,  however 
and  at  the  end  of  it  he  found  a  perpendicular 
bank  about  as  high  as  his  head.  He  could  reach 
the  top  of  it  with  his  boat-hook.  With  the  help 
of  his  boat-hook,  he  climbed  up  this  bank,  and 
found  himself  upon  grass  ground. 

"  The  first  thing  which  he  did  was,  to  hold  up 
his  hand,  to  see  if  there  was  any  wind  ;  for,  if  there 
was,  he  thought  he  could  guide  himself  somewhat 
by  it.  There  was  a  gentle  evening  breeze  blow- 
ing directly  towards  him,  as  he  stood  upon  the 
bank,  with  his  back  to  the  sea.  So  he  determined 
to  go  on,  and  to  keep  the  wind  in  his  face  all  the 
time ;  and  by  this  means,  he  hoped  to  go  straight 
away  from  the  shore,  and  so,  at  length,  strike  the 
road. 

"  This  wind,  however,  on  which  he  at  first  de- 
pended so  much,  gradually  died  away,  until  he 
could  not  perceive  it  at  all ;  and,  after  groping 
his  way  for  half  an  hour  over  rousjh  ground,  and 
so  covered  wkh  rocks  and  bushes  that  he  was 
often  turned  aside  from  his  course,  he  began  to 
feel  very  much  disheartened  and  discouraged. 
He  had  a  great  mind  to  give  up,  and  wait  until 
morning,  in  hopes  that  somebody  would  come  out 
and  find  him.  He  concluded,  however,  to  try  a 
little  longer.     He  went  on,  and  in  a  few  moments 


176  LUCY    ON    THE    SEA-SHORE. 

be  felt  something  with  his  boat-hook  rising  before 
him,  like  a  wall,  and  stopping  his  way.  On 
examining  it  more  fully,  he  found  that  it  was  a 
fence.  He  was  very  much  pleased  that  he  had 
found  a  fence ;  '  For  now,'  said  he  to  himself, 
' 1  can  go  straight  again.' 

"  The  fence,  of  course,  crossed  the  line  of  direc- 
tion in  which  he  had  been  advancing.  He  would 
have  been  better  pleased,  if  it  had  coincided  with 
it,  so  that  he  could  have  gone  directly  on.  Still 
he  thought  it  would  not  take  him  far  out  of  the 
way  ;  for  pretty  soon,  he  supposed,  it  would  con- 
duct him  to  the  corner  of  the  field,  and  then  he 
could  turn  and  follow  the  other  fence,  which,  he 
supposed,  would  conduct  him  more  directly  up 
into  the  land. 

"  As  he  was  walking  along  by  the  side  of  this 
fence,  feeling  his  way  very  carefully  as  he  ad- 
vanced, suddenly  the  end  of  his  boat-hook  went 
down  into  a  deep  place  before  him.  He  stopped, 
and  then  he  advanced  cautiously  to  the  brink, 
and,  examining  the  place  with  his  boat-hook,  he 
found  that  it  was  the  channel  of  a  little  creek, 
with  water  in  the  bottom  of  it  flowing  towards 
the  sea. 

"  On  reflection,  he  concluded  that  it  would  be 
better  for  him  to  leave  the  fence,  and  follow  the 
creek  ;  for  there  was  some  uncertainty  about  the 
fences,  but  the  creek,  though  it  might  wind  about 
for  a  time,  must  lead  him,  in  the  end,  far  inland. 
The  creek,  he  knew,  must  come  from  the  interio) 
of  the  country,  and,  of  course,  must  somewhere 


BLIND   JACK.  177 

crass  the  road  ;  and  he  knew,  if  he  followed  the 
ereek,  that  he  could  tell  wher*  he  got  to  the  road, 
by  his  finding  a  bridge  across  it. 

"  So  he  left  the  fence,  and  began  to  grope  his 
way  along  by  the  bank  of  the  creek.  He  had 
now  to  go  more  slowly ;  for  the  roughness  and 
difficulty  of  the  way  increased.  At  first,  the 
course  of  the  creek  was  very  crooked  ;  but  he  fol- 
lowed it,  thinking  that,  if  he  persevered,  it  would 
certainly  bring  him  out  right  in  the  end." 

As  Lucy  finished  reading  that  sentence,  she 
looked  up,  and  saw  Marielle  standing  before  her. 

"  Why,  Marielle  ! "  said  Lucy  ;  "  I  did  not  know 
that  you  were  here." 

"  I  just  came,"  said  Marielle.  "  Martha  wants 
to  know  if  you  have  not  almost  finished  your 
story." 

"  Why,  pretty  nearly,"  said  Lucy,  turning  over 
the  leaves  of  her  book.  "  I've  got  two  or  three 
more  pages  to  read." 

"  Besides,"  said  Marielle,  "  Martha  says  that 
she  is  afraid  the  tide  will  rise  so  high  that  we 
can't  get  back." 

"  O,  well,  then,"  said  Lucy,  rising  hastily  from 
her  seat ;  "  let  us  go  now." 

"  But,  then,  what  shall  I  do  for  the  rest  of  my 
story  ? "  said  Mrs.  Star. 

"  Why,  I  will  come  down  some  other  day,  and 
finish  it,"  replied  Lucy. 

"  Well,  that  will  do ;  only  tell  me  now  whether 
Jack  got  home.' 


178 


LUCY    ON    THE    SEA-SHOR*.. 


"  Yes,"  said  Lucy,  "  he  got  home.  He  fot 
owed  the  brook  up  until  he  came  to  a  bridge, 
and  so  he  found  the  road  ;  and  then  he  walked 
along  the  road  until  he  got  to  a  house,  and  the 
people  in  the  house  let  him  stay  there  all  that 
night,  and  in  the  morning  he  went  home  in  a 
wagon." 

"  And  what  became  of  his  father?  "  said  Mrs. 
Star. 

"Why,  his  father  got  blown  out  to  sea;  but 
when  the  wind  stopped  blowing,  they  rowed  back 
again,  and  got  home  the  next  morning  just  as 
Jack   was  driving  up  to  the  door." 

So  saying,  Lucy  bade  Mrs.  Star  good-by,  and 
went  away.  She  and  Marielle  found  Martha 
waiting  for  them,  with  Willie  in  his  carnage,  ail 
ready  to  return  homewards. 


17* 


CHAPTER    XV. 

GOING   HOME. 

Lady  Jane  and  the  girls  remained,  after  this, 
several  days  at  the  sea-shore.  They  had  many 
pleasant  walks  and  rides  ;  and  one  day  they  went 
out  with  Mr.  St.  John  in  a  sail-boat  to  take  a  sail. 
Lucy  did  not  like  the  sail-boat  so  well  as  she  did 
the  small  skiff  propelled  by  oars,  in  which  she 
and  Marielle  took  their  first  excursion  upon  the 
water  with  Mr.  St.  John.  The  sail-boat  tipped 
to  one  side  or  to  the  other,  in  such  a  manner  that 
Lucy  was  sometimes  very  much  afraid  that  it 
would  tip  over.  Mr.  St.  John  assured  her  that 
there  was  no  danger ;  but,  notwithstanding  this,  she 
felt  much  more  safe  in  the  little  skiff,  which  went 
along  very  even  and  steady. 

At  last,  the  time  came  for  them  to  return  home. 
Marielle's  uncle  came  down  from  the  city,  to 
carry  back  Willie  and  his  mother ;  and  Parker 
was  going  to  drive  Lady  Jane  and  the  children 
They  were  to  go  to  the  city  in  the  afternoon  , 
in  the  morning  of  the  same  day,  L.idy  Jane 
let  Parker  drive  all  the  children  down  to  the  light- 
house, with  Martha  to  take  care  of  them.  They 
went  to  bid  Mrs.  Star  good-by.  Lucy  forgot  to 
carry  down  her  elephant  book,  to  finish  reading 
the  story,  and  Mrs.  Star  forgot  to  ask  for  it.     As 


180  LUCY    ON     THE    SEa  SHORE. 

Lucy  had  told  her  the  substance  of  the  conclusion 
of  it,  she  had  dismissed  it  from  her  mind.  Lucy 
however,  did  not  forget  to  cany  some  oranges, 
which  Mrs.  Star  was  very  glad  to  receive.  Tl  en 
Marielle  and  Lucy  bade  Mrs.  Star  good-by ;  and 
they  said  that,  if  they  ever  came  to  the  sea-shore 
again,  they  should  certainly  come  down  to  the 
lighthouse  and  see  her,  the  first  thing. 

They  liked  riding  all  together  in  the  carriage 
very  much,  and  Marielle  said,  — 

"  I  mean  to  ask  my  mother  to  let  us  children 
have  one  carnage,  going  back  to  the  city,  and  she 
and  uncle  and  aunt  can  have  the  other." 

"  Yes,"  said  Lucy,  "  and  Martha  can  go  with 
us,  to  take  care  of  us.     Will  you,  Martha  ? " 

Martha  had  no  objection  to  this  arrangement ; 
and  when,  at  dinner-time,  Marielle  proposed  it  to 
her  mother  and  aunt,  she  was  very  glad  to  rind 
that  they  had  no  objection  either.  Accordingly. 
in  riding  to  the  city  that  afternoon,  the  children, 
with  Martha,  had  the  carriage  all  to  themselves. 

They  spent  one  day  in  the  city,  and  Marielle's 
aunt  was  so  much  pleased  with  Lucy's  gentleness 
and  docility,  that  she  asked  Lady  Jane  to  be  sure 
and  brino-  her  with  Marielle  when  she  came  to 
.own  again.  They  then  bade  Willie  good-by, 
and  Marielle's  aunt,  and  lastly  Washington,  who 
stood  upon  the  steps,  and  made  them  a  very  low 
bow,  as  they  drove  away  from  the  door. 

THE     END. 


YB  37063 


